Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Stock Rating Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $4.00 price target on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. HC Wainwright reiterated 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 note on Tuesday, July 7th. Leerink Partners lowered Akebia Therapeutics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $1.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Akebia Therapeutics from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Akebia Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $3.90.

Akebia Therapeutics Trading Up 0.8%

NASDAQ:AKBA opened at $0.57 on Friday. Akebia Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $0.54 and a 12 month high of $3.20. The firm has a market cap of $157.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.15 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company’s 50 day moving average is $0.87 and its 200-day moving average is $1.08.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.85 million. Akebia Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 13.54% and a negative return on equity of 88.88%. Equities analysts anticipate that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.14 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AKBA. Nantahala Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Akebia Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,280,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $22,784,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at $706,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in Akebia Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $105,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

Akebia Therapeutics Company Profile

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for patients with kidney disease and related conditions. The company’s primary areas of interest include anemia associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD), iron deficiency, and disorders involving mineral metabolism.

Akebia’s key product is Vafseo (vadadustat), an oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor designed to stimulate the body’s natural production of erythropoietin and support red blood cell formation.