Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Share Price Crosses Below 200 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Technical sell signal: Akebia shares fell below their 200‑day moving average, trading as low as $1.36 and last at $1.38 versus a 200‑day MA of $1.62, on volume of about 1.29M shares.
• Mixed analyst outlook: The consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $4.67 (three Buys, one Hold, one Sell), reflecting divergent views and recent target cuts and downgrades.
• Insider activity: CEO John P. Butler bought 69,270 shares at about $1.25, modestly increasing his stake while insiders overall own roughly 3% of the company.

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) crossed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $1.62 and traded as low as $1.36. Akebia Therapeutics shares last traded at $1.38, with a volume of 1,291,840 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $4.00 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $6.00 to $4.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $4.67.

Akebia Therapeutics Trading Up 1.5%

The firm has a market cap of $369.67 million, a P/E ratio of -68.97 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1.37 and a 200 day moving average of $1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.55.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $57.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.37 million. Akebia Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 2.26% and a negative return on equity of 16.70%. Analysts predict that Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. will post 0.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John P. Butler acquired 69,270 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $1.25 per share, with a total value of $86,587.50. Following the purchase, 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. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $68,838.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 299,390 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $416,152.10. This trade represents a 14.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Akebia Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in Akebia Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth $206,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at about $59,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 697.8% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 20,622 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 18,037 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $75,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd boosted its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 1,136.8% during the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 472,485 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $761,000 after purchasing an additional 434,284 shares during the period. 33.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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