Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Friday morning.

Separately, HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of AKBA stock opened at $1.36 on Friday. Akebia Therapeutics has a one year low of $0.65 and a one year high of $2.48. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $1.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $284.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.86 and a beta of 0.79.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.04). The business had revenue of $56.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.64 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.04) EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akebia Therapeutics

In related news, CEO John P. Butler sold 46,489 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.68, for a total transaction of $78,101.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,128,883 shares in the company, valued at $3,576,523.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Steven Keith Burke sold 24,311 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.68, for a total transaction of $40,842.48. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 711,376 shares in the company, valued at $1,195,111.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John P. Butler sold 46,489 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.68, for a total transaction of $78,101.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,128,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,576,523.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 187,893 shares of company stock worth $300,598. 3.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 311,608.2% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 152,737 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 152,688 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $248,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 755,488 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $861,000 after acquiring an additional 93,590 shares in the last quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Cannon Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at about $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

Akebia Therapeutics Company Profile

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of therapeutics for patients with kidney diseases. The company's lead product investigational product candidate is Vafseo (vadadustat), an oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase, which is in Phase III development for the treatment of anemia due to chronic kidney disease (CKD) in dialysis-dependent and non-dialysis dependent patients.