Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the five brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $4.6667.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research downgraded Akebia Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $4.00 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Akebia Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 23.0% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,393 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 26.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 23,279 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 4,798 shares during the period. Polymer Capital Management US LLC boosted its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 49.5% during the 3rd quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC now owns 18,232 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 6,034 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 164,655 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 8,103 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 16.8% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 59,502 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $217,000 after acquiring an additional 8,568 shares during the period. 33.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Akebia Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of AKBA opened at $0.87 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $234.16 million, a P/E ratio of -10.91 and a beta of 0.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.33. Akebia Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $0.82 and a 12 month high of $4.08.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $53.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $51.67 million. Akebia Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 62.72% and a negative net margin of 8.83%. On average, research analysts forecast that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Akebia Therapeutics Company Profile

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is focused on the development and commercialization of therapies for patients with kidney disease. The company’s lead product candidate, vadadustat, is an investigational oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor designed to treat anemia associated with chronic kidney disease in both dialysis-dependent and non-dialysis patients. Akebia’s research and development efforts also extend to preclinical programs targeting nephrology and related metabolic disorders.

Since its founding in 2007, Akebia has pursued strategic collaborations to advance its clinical pipeline and expand its market reach.