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

Shares of Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $3.75.

AKBA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded Akebia Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Akebia Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Leerink Partners cut Akebia Therapeutics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $1.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, August 7th.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:AKBA opened at $0.86 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.43. Akebia Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $0.81 and a 1 year high of $3.32. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $1.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $238.31 million, a P/E ratio of -7.82 and a beta of 0.26.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $49.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 forecast that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Akebia Therapeutics

In related news, CFO Erik Ostrowski sold 56,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.11, for a total value of $62,181.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 616,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $684,443.76. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Company insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AKBA. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Akebia Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $62,000. Polymer Capital Management US LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 6,034 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 697.8% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 20,622 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 18,037 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

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.