Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Shares Cross Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Price action: Akebia's stock crossed below its 200-day moving average (200‑day MA $1.68), trading as low as $1.40 and last at $1.42 on volume of about 1.49 million shares.
• Analyst backdrop: The stock carries a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $5.25 consensus target, but analyst views are mixed (e.g., Piper Sandler cut its target to $4 while HC Wainwright and BTIG maintain buy ratings with targets as high as $6 and $4).
• Fundamentals and insiders: Akebia missed EPS expectations (‑$0.05 vs. est. ‑$0.03) but beat revenue estimates ($57.62M vs. $48.37M); meanwhile the CEO purchased 69,270 shares at $1.25 as the CAO sold ~49,524 shares.

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $1.68 and traded as low as $1.40. Akebia Therapeutics shares last traded at $1.42, with a volume of 1,492,264 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AKBA shares. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Akebia Therapeutics from $6.00 to $4.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $4.00 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $6.00 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5.25.

Akebia Therapeutics Trading Up 0.7%

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $1.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $1.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $380.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -70.96 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.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $57.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.37 million. Akebia Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 16.70% and a negative net margin of 2.26%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. will post 0.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 49,524 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 299,390 shares of the company's stock, valued at $416,152.10. This represents a 14.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John P. Butler purchased 69,270 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $1.25 per share, with a total value of $86,587.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,367,064 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,208,830. This represents a 2.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 26.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 23,279 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 4,798 shares in the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 49.5% in the third quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC now owns 18,232 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 6,034 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 164,655 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 8,103 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 16.8% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 59,502 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 8,568 shares during the period. 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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