Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Lowered to “Strong Sell” Rating by Zacks Research

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on AKBA. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $6.00 to $4.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. BTIG Research dropped their price objective on Akebia Therapeutics from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Akebia Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5.40.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of AKBA stock opened at $1.31 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.11. Akebia Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $1.14 and a twelve month high of $4.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 1.94. The company has a market capitalization of $347.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -65.47 and a beta of 0.38.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by ($0.02). Akebia Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 2.26% and a negative return on equity of 16.81%. The company had revenue of $57.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.37 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Akebia Therapeutics

In other news, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 49,524 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.39, for a total transaction of $68,838.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 299,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $416,152.10. This represents a 14.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AKBA. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 13.1% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 176,961 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 20,499 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 9.1% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 137,897 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 11,517 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 171.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,724,439 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,231,000 after purchasing an additional 1,722,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 540.6% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 22,633 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 19,100 shares during the period. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Akebia Therapeutics News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Akebia Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reported strong commercial performance — Q4 2025 net product revenue of $54.3M and full‑year 2025 net product revenue of $227.3M (a 49% increase vs. 2024); company expects meaningful Vafseo (vadadustat) revenue growth in 2026 and is advancing clinical programs (praliciguat Phase 2 enrolling for FSGS; AKB‑097 Phase 2 rare kidney disease basket trial planned for 2H 2026). Akebia Therapeutics Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results and Commercial and Pipeline Highlights
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call transcript and highlights are available — the call provides management color on commercial execution, 2026 revenue drivers and pipeline timelines for investors wanting detail on guidance and cadence. Akebia (AKBA) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage roundup published that summarizes current sell/hold/buy positioning and recent analyst comments — useful for gauging consensus and near‑term catalysts. 6AKBA : Where Akebia Therapeutics Stands With Analysts
• Negative Sentiment: EPS miss: Akebia reported ($0.05) EPS vs. consensus ($0.03) — despite revenue beating estimates, the bottom‑line miss and negative net margin / ROE metrics raise near‑term profitability concerns. Akebia Therapeutics Q4 Earnings (MarketBeat)
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst pessimism: BTIG published a bearish forecast for AKBA, which can weigh on sentiment and trading until clearer profitability/growth trajectories are demonstrated. BTIG Research Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Stock Price
• Negative Sentiment: Elevated short interest history — reports show ~31.2M shares short (~12.1% of float) with a ~7.1 days‑to‑cover (as of mid‑Feb), which can amplify downside pressure; note some recent short‑interest entries contain inconsistent/zero values, suggesting data reporting noise that investors should verify with official exchange filings.

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.