Wall Street Zen Upgrades Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) to Hold

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on AKBA. Zacks Research upgraded Akebia Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $4.00 price target on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Westpark Capital started coverage on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $4.50 price target for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $3.90.

Akebia Therapeutics Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:AKBA opened at $0.71 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Akebia Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $0.54 and a 52-week high of $2.22. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $0.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.14.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $49.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.85 million. Akebia Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 88.88% and a negative net margin of 13.54%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.14 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Akebia Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AKBA. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $26,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 60.3% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 77,992 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 29,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Akebia Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. 33.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Akebia Therapeutics

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for patients with kidney disease and related conditions. The company’s primary areas of interest include anemia associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD), iron deficiency, and disorders involving mineral metabolism.

Akebia’s key product is Vafseo (vadadustat), an oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor designed to stimulate the body’s natural production of erythropoietin and support red blood cell formation.