Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Stock Price Up 6.8% - Time to Buy?

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 6.8% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $3.02 and last traded at $3.08. 864,502 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 2,911,416 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on AKBA. Wall Street Zen upgraded Akebia Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $6.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $7.50 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Friday, April 4th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Akebia Therapeutics from $4.00 to $6.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $7.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $6.63.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

The business's 50 day simple moving average is $2.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.09. The company has a market cap of $853.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.13 and a beta of 0.88.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $57.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.88 million. Research analysts expect that Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Akebia Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mariner LLC bought a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. PDS Planning Inc acquired a new position in Akebia Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Unified Investment Management lifted its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 47.8% during the 1st quarter. Unified Investment Management now owns 17,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 5,500 shares during the period. Finally, E Fund Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 51.9% in the 1st quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 19,311 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 6,595 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.92% of the company's stock.

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.