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

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Buy" from the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $6.63.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Monday, April 28th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $7.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Akebia Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 3rd. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $7.50 price target on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Friday, April 4th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Akebia Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $6.00 price target on the stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AKBA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 16.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,685,803 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $24,357,000 after purchasing an additional 1,801,603 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,795,095 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $9,112,000 after purchasing an additional 40,631 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,823,527 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $7,265,000 after purchasing an additional 105,727 shares in the last quarter. AIGH Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the first quarter worth $5,616,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,722,245 shares in the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Akebia Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of AKBA stock traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $3.01. The stock had a trading volume of 7,545,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,932,660. Akebia Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $0.80 and a fifty-two week high of $3.14. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $2.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.08. The firm has a market cap of $790.53 million, a PE ratio of -13.09 and a beta of 0.88.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.06. The company had revenue of $57.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.88 million. On average, analysts expect that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.3 EPS for the current year.

Akebia Therapeutics Company Profile

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.