Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) from a "hold" to a "strong sell", while analysts remain mixed (three Buys, two Sells) with a consensus target price of $4.67.
• Shares opened at $1.18 (near a one-year low of $1.13) after reporting quarterly EPS of ($0.03) that missed estimates despite $53.5M in revenue, and the company has a market cap of about $316.5M with negative profitability metrics.
• CEO John P. Butler bought 69,270 shares at roughly $1.25 in March (a 2.1% increase in his stake), and institutional investors now own about 33.9% of the company.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

AKBA has been the topic of several other reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $6.00 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 6th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $4.00 price target on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $4.67.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of AKBA stock opened at $1.18 on Wednesday. Akebia Therapeutics has a one year low of $1.13 and a one year high of $4.08. The company's 50-day moving average is $1.38 and its 200 day moving average is $1.57. The company has a market capitalization of $316.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -58.97 and a beta of 0.35. 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 announced 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 2.26% and a negative return on equity of 16.70%. The firm had revenue of $53.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $51.67 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Akebia Therapeutics will post 0.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John P. Butler purchased 69,270 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1.25 per share, with a total value of $86,587.50. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,367,064 shares in the company, valued at $4,208,830. The trade was a 2.10% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 23.0% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,393 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 26.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 23,279 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 4,798 shares during 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 worth $50,000 after buying an additional 6,034 shares during the last quarter. 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 worth $265,000 after buying an additional 8,103 shares during the last quarter. 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 worth $217,000 after buying an additional 8,568 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.92% of the company's stock.

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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