Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Sets New 12-Month High - Time to Buy?

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $4.08 and last traded at $3.96, with a volume of 764171 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $3.98.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on AKBA. Wall Street Zen raised Akebia Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 3rd. HC Wainwright assumed coverage on Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $8.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $6.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Akebia Therapeutics from $4.00 to $6.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Monday, April 28th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $7.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Akebia Therapeutics presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $6.75.

Akebia Therapeutics Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. The firm has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.71 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a fifty day moving average of $3.28 and a 200 day moving average of $2.45.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $57.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.88 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Akebia Therapeutics

In other Akebia Therapeutics news, CFO Erik Ostrowski sold 41,314 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.67, for a total transaction of $151,622.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 503,586 shares in the company, valued at $1,848,160.62. This trade represents a 7.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.01, for a total transaction of $60,150.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 266,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,070,325.14. This trade represents a 5.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 69,648 shares of company stock valued at $258,841 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

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

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.