Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Akebia Therapeutics was upgraded by Zacks Research from "strong sell" to "hold"; analyst coverage remains mixed (1 Strong Buy, 3 Buy, 1 Hold, 1 Sell) with a MarketBeat consensus of Moderate Buy and a $5.25 average price target.
• In the latest quarter Akebia missed EPS (‑$0.05 vs. ‑$0.03 est.) but beat revenue expectations at $57.62M, the stock trades near $1.43 (52‑week range $1.14–$4.08), and insiders showed mixed activity — the CEO bought 69,270 shares at $1.25 while the CAO sold 49,524 shares.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on AKBA. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $4.00 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen lowered Akebia Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $6.00 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Akebia Therapeutics from $6.00 to $4.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5.25.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

AKBA opened at $1.43 on Tuesday. Akebia Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $1.14 and a 52-week high of $4.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $383.07 million, a PE ratio of -71.46 and a beta of 0.37. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $1.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.77.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AKBA. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position 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 last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 9.1% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 137,897 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 11,517 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 171.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,724,439 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $5,231,000 after purchasing an additional 1,722,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 123.0% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,652,746 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $6,016,000 after purchasing an additional 911,585 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.92% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.