Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Akebia Therapeutics has been downgraded from a "strong-buy" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting a shift in investor sentiment regarding the stock.
• HC Wainwright has issued a "buy" rating with a target price of $8.00 after initiating coverage, while Zacks Research has lowered its rating to "hold."
• As of recently, 33.92% of Akebia's stock is owned by hedge funds and institutional investors, with several large firms increasing their positions in the company.

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on AKBA. HC Wainwright initiated coverage on Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $8.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research cut Akebia Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $6.75.

Akebia Therapeutics Price Performance

Akebia Therapeutics stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $2.86. 862,182 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,109,367. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.98. The company has a market capitalization of $756.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.79 and a beta of 1.02. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $3.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.89. Akebia Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $1.24 and a 1 year high of $4.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akebia Therapeutics

In other news, CFO Erik Ostrowski sold 41,314 shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.67, for a total value of $151,622.38. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 503,586 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,848,160.62. The trade was a 7.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Unified Investment Management lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 5,500 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 51.9% during the 1st quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 19,311 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 6,595 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC acquired a new position in Akebia Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,393 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Akebia Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $59,000. 33.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Akebia Therapeutics

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.