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

Key Points

• Analysts have given Akebia a consensus rating of Moderate Buy from six firms (1 sell, 1 hold, 3 buy, 1 strong buy) with an average 12‑month price target of $5.25.
• Shares rose about 6.1% to open at $1.56; the company has a market cap of $417.9M, reported a quarterly loss of $0.05 per share (missing estimates) but beat revenue expectations at $57.6M, and trades in a 52‑week range of $1.14–$4.08.
• Notable insider and institutional activity: CEO John Butler bought 69,270 shares while the CAO sold 49,524, and institutions including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan substantially increased their stakes (institutional ownership ~33.9%).

Shares of Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the six research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $5.25.

AKBA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. 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 report on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $4.00 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $6.00 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 6th.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Up 6.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:AKBA opened at $1.56 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $417.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -77.96 and a beta of 0.37. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $1.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. Akebia Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $1.14 and a fifty-two week high of $4.08.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $57.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $48.37 million. Akebia Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 2.26% and a negative return on equity of 16.70%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 49,524 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.39, for a total value of $68,838.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 299,390 shares in the company, valued at $416,152.10. This trade represents a 14.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John P. Butler acquired 69,270 shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $1.25 per share, with a total value of $86,587.50. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,367,064 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,208,830. This trade represents a 2.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Akebia Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AKBA. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 23.0% in the first 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. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 13.1% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 176,961 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 20,499 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in 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 worth $265,000 after acquiring an additional 11,517 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 171.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,724,439 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $5,231,000 after acquiring an additional 1,722,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 123.0% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,652,746 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $6,016,000 after acquiring an additional 911,585 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.92% of the company's stock.

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.

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