Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) Given Average Rating of "Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Akebia Therapeutics has received an average consensus recommendation of "Buy" from six research firms, with a 12-month price objective set at $6.75.
• Insider trading activity saw CAO Richard C. Malabre and CFO Erik Ostrowski sell significant shares, leading to a combined decrease of 12.90% in their ownership positions.
• Recent institutional investments include purchases by multiple hedge funds, with 33.92% of the company's stock now held by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Buy" from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $6.75.

AKBA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. HC Wainwright began coverage on Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $8.00 price objective on the stock.

Akebia Therapeutics Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of AKBA stock traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $3.02. The company had a trading volume of 4,054,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,157,772. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $800.72 million, a PE ratio of -17.76 and a beta of 1.02. The company's fifty day moving average is $3.52 and its 200 day moving average is $2.82. Akebia Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $1.24 and a fifty-two week high of $4.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akebia Therapeutics

In other Akebia Therapeutics news, CFO Erik Ostrowski sold 41,314 shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.67, for a total transaction of $151,622.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 503,586 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,848,160.62. The trade was a 7.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.01, for a total value of $60,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 266,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,070,325.14. This trade represents a 5.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 122,397 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 23,099 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Akebia Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $85,000. Barclays PLC increased its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 375,495 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $713,000 after buying an additional 102,410 shares during the period. Mariner LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $239,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.92% of the company's stock.

About Akebia Therapeutics

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.