Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Releases Earnings Results

Key Points

• Akebia Therapeutics beat quarterly expectations: The company reported a loss of $0.03 per share versus the $0.04 consensus loss, while revenue of $49.13 million exceeded estimates of $48.85 million.
• Shares traded at $1.29 during Wednesday’s session, giving Akebia a market capitalization of approximately $346 million. The stock remains unprofitable, with a negative net margin of 8.83% and return on equity of negative 62.72%.
• Analyst opinions remain mixed, with three Buy ratings, one Hold, and one Sell; the consensus rating is Hold with a target price of $4.67. Institutional investors own 33.92% of the company, while CFO Erik Ostrowski sold shares to cover tax withholding obligations.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.01, FiscalAI reports. Akebia Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 8.83% and a negative return on equity of 62.72%. The business had revenue of $49.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $48.85 million.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ AKBA traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $1.29. 3,278,402 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,823,669. The company has a market capitalization of $346.06 million, a P/E ratio of -16.12 and a beta of 0.26. Akebia Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $0.82 and a 1 year high of $3.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.40. The business's 50 day moving average is $1.16 and its 200-day moving average is $1.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Erik Ostrowski sold 56,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 616,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $684,443.76. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 6.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,547,508 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $42,445,000 after acquiring an additional 936,042 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 15.6% in 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. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,277,177 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $10,108,000 after purchasing an additional 92,226 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 166.2% during 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 buying an additional 2,938,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 470.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,646,233 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $9,954,000 after buying an additional 3,006,771 shares during the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AKBA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Akebia Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $6.00 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Monday. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $4.00 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Akebia Therapeutics has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $4.67.

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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