Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

by · The Cerbat Gem

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA – Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $4.00 price target on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $4.67.

Read Our Latest Report on AKBA

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AKBA opened at $1.42 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $380.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.75 and a beta of 0.23. Akebia Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $0.82 and a 12 month high of $4.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $1.10 and its 200 day moving average is $1.30. 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 (NASDAQ:AKBA – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.02). Akebia Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 62.72% and a negative net margin of 8.83%.The firm had revenue of $53.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $51.67 million. Research analysts predict that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Akebia Therapeutics

In related news, CFO Erik Ostrowski sold 56,019 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.11, for a total value of $62,181.09. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 616,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $684,443.76. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 470.2% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,646,233 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,954,000 after buying an additional 3,006,771 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 166.2% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,706,437 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,577,000 after acquiring an additional 2,938,624 shares during the period. MPM Bioimpact LLC bought a new position in Akebia Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $10,516,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 528.1% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,400,757 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,554,000 after acquiring an additional 2,018,547 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,687,561 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $22,037,000 after purchasing an additional 1,842,792 shares during the period. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Akebia Therapeutics Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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