Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Akebia Therapeutics has an average analyst rating of "Hold", based on coverage from five brokerages. The group is split between two sell ratings and three buy ratings, with an average 12-month price target of about $4.67.
• Recent analyst actions were mixed: BTIG Research and HC Wainwright reiterated buy ratings, while Zacks Research and Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock. Weiss Ratings also reiterated a sell rating.
• The company reported revenue of $53.54 million in its latest quarter, beating estimates, but posted EPS of -$0.03, missing expectations. Shares opened at $1.16, near their 52-week low of $1.13.

Shares of Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Hold" by the five brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $4.6667.

Several research firms recently weighed in on AKBA. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $4.00 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Zacks Research cut Akebia Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen cut Akebia Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $6.00 price target on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO John P. Butler purchased 69,270 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $1.25 per share, with a total value of $86,587.50. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,367,064 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,208,830. The trade was a 2.10% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Unified Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Polymer Capital Management US LLC grew its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 49.5% in the 3rd quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC now owns 18,232 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 6,034 shares during the period. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Akebia Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ AKBA opened at $1.16 on Friday. Akebia Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $1.13 and a twelve month high of $4.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $311.17 million, a PE ratio of -14.50 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $1.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1.57.

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 the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by ($0.02). Akebia Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 59.49% and a negative net margin of 8.83%.The business had revenue of $53.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.67 million. Research analysts anticipate that Akebia Therapeutics will post 0.03 EPS for the current year.

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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