Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Downgraded by Leerink Partners to "Market Perform"

Key Points

• Leerink Partners downgraded Akebia Therapeutics from “Outperform” to “Market Perform” and set a $1.00 price target, implying about 4.78% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst views remain mixed, with three Buy, two Hold, and one Sell rating; the overall consensus is “Hold” with an average target price of $3.75.
• Akebia shares were trading down 26%, opening at $0.95, despite the company beating quarterly EPS and revenue estimates. The company reported a $0.02 loss per share versus the expected $0.04 loss and $49.13 million in revenue.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Leerink Partners from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a note issued to investors on Friday. They currently have a $1.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Leerink Partners' price objective would suggest a potential upside of 4.78% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on AKBA. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $3.75.

Akebia Therapeutics Trading Down 26.0%

Shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock opened at $0.95 on Friday. Akebia Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $0.82 and a fifty-two week high of $3.44. The business's fifty day moving average is $1.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market cap of $256.03 million, a PE ratio of -8.68 and a beta of 0.26.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.02. Akebia Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 83.08% and a negative net margin of 13.54%.The firm had revenue of $49.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.85 million. Analysts anticipate that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Erik Ostrowski sold 56,019 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.11, for a total transaction of $62,181.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 616,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $684,443.76. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. UBS Group AG boosted its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 470.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,646,233 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $9,954,000 after purchasing an additional 3,006,771 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 166.2% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,706,437 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $7,577,000 after purchasing an additional 2,938,624 shares in the last quarter. MPM Bioimpact LLC purchased a new position in Akebia Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $10,516,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 528.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,400,757 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $6,554,000 after purchasing an additional 2,018,547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Akebia Therapeutics

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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