Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Akebia Therapeutics from hold to sell, adding to mixed analyst sentiment around the biotech stock. The overall consensus remains Hold with an average target price of $4.67.
• Akebia reported quarterly earnings of ($0.03) EPS, missing expectations, though revenue of $53.54 million came in above estimates. The company also posted negative margins and return on equity, underscoring ongoing profitability challenges.
• The stock was trading near its 52-week low at $1.16, while CEO John P. Butler recently bought additional shares. Institutional ownership remains significant, with funds such as UBS, Goldman Sachs, and State Street increasing stakes.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on AKBA. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $4.00 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $6.00 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $4.67.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of AKBA stock opened at $1.16 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $311.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.50 and a beta of 0.35. The company's 50 day moving average is $1.38 and its 200 day moving average is $1.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. Akebia Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $1.13 and a 52-week high of $4.08.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $53.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $51.67 million. Akebia Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 8.83% and a negative return on equity of 59.49%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Akebia Therapeutics will post 0.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John P. Butler bought 69,270 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $1.25 per share, for a total transaction of $86,587.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,367,064 shares in the company, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AKBA. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 3,006,771 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $7,577,000 after buying an additional 2,938,624 shares during the period. MPM Bioimpact LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $10,516,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 528.1% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,400,757 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $6,554,000 after buying an additional 2,018,547 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,687,561 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $22,037,000 after buying an additional 1,842,792 shares during the period. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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