Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Shares Pass Above Fifty Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Akebia Therapeutics shares moved above their 50-day moving average on Thursday, trading as high as $1.41 before last changing hands at $1.40. Volume was more than 3.0 million shares, signaling notable trading interest.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans cautious: the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” with an average price target of $4.67. Recent moves included downgrades from Wall Street Zen and Zacks, while HC Wainwright and BTIG reiterated bullish views.
• The company’s latest earnings missed expectations on EPS but beat on revenue, posting a loss of $0.03 per share versus the expected loss of $0.01, while revenue came in at $53.54 million. The report also noted a CFO share sale and continued institutional buying activity.

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1.11 and traded as high as $1.41. Akebia Therapeutics shares last traded at $1.40, with a volume of 3,057,084 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on AKBA. Wall Street Zen downgraded Akebia Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $6.00 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Zacks Research raised Akebia Therapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $4.00 price target on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Akebia Therapeutics has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $4.67.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $375.56 million, a P/E ratio of -17.50 and a beta of 0.23. 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 fifty day simple moving average is $1.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1.29.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by ($0.02). Akebia Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 8.83% and a negative return on equity of 62.72%. The company had revenue of $53.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $51.67 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Erik Ostrowski sold 56,019 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.11, for a total transaction of $62,181.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 616,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $684,443.76. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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.

Institutional Trading of Akebia Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 470.2% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,646,233 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $9,954,000 after purchasing an additional 3,006,771 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 166.2% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,706,437 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $7,577,000 after purchasing an additional 2,938,624 shares in the last quarter. MPM Bioimpact LLC purchased a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at $10,516,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 528.1% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,400,757 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $6,554,000 after purchasing an additional 2,018,547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 15.6% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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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