Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the five ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $4.6667.

Several research analysts have commented on AKBA shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $6.00 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Akebia Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $4.00 price target on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Akebia Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th.

Akebia Therapeutics Price Performance

Akebia Therapeutics stock opened at $1.22 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $327.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.25 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Akebia Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $0.82 and a 12 month high of $4.01. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $1.12 and its 200-day moving average is $1.28.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Erik Ostrowski sold 56,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.11, for a total transaction of $62,181.09. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 616,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $684,443.76. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 4.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 697.8% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 20,622 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 18,037 shares during the period. Caption Management LLC bought a new position in Akebia Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 23.0% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,393 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Polymer Capital Management US LLC raised its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 49.5% during the third quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC now owns 18,232 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 6,034 shares during the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Akebia Therapeutics

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.