Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $3.90

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $3.90.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $4.00 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Akebia Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 12th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Akebia Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Westpark Capital began coverage on Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $4.50 price target on the stock.

Akebia Therapeutics Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of AKBA opened at $0.77 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $0.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.35. Akebia Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $0.77 and a 1 year high of $3.20.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $49.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.85 million. Akebia Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 88.88% and a negative net margin of 13.54%. On average, research analysts forecast that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.14 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Akebia Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AKBA. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Akebia Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $22,784,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 22.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,763,362 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,841,000 after purchasing an additional 505,951 shares in the last quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $2,280,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 32.6% in the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 839,729 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $957,000 after purchasing an additional 206,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $706,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

Akebia Therapeutics Company Profile

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing treatments for patients with kidney disease and related complications. The company’s portfolio centers on therapies for anemia associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD), a condition that can result from reduced kidney function and insufficient production of erythropoietin.

Akebia’s primary product is Vafseo (vadadustat), an oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor. In the United States, Vafseo is approved to treat anemia due to CKD in adults who have been receiving dialysis for at least three months.