Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Trading Down 6.1% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Akebia Therapeutics' stock experienced a significant drop of 6.1%, with shares trading as low as $3.56 during mid-day on Friday.
• Recent analyst coverage shows a consensus rating of "Buy" for Akebia with a price target averaging $6.75, despite recent declines in stock value.
• The company recently reported earnings that exceeded expectations, with a revenue of $57.34 million, surpassing analyst predictions of $44.88 million.
• Insider trades revealed that CFO Erik Ostrowski sold over 41,000 shares, decreasing his ownership by 7.58%, amidst a backdrop of ongoing insider selling trends.

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) dropped 6.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $3.56 and last traded at $3.61. Approximately 1,210,448 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 4,140,064 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.84.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AKBA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Monday, April 28th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $7.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Akebia Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $6.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright initiated coverage on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $8.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $6.75.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company's fifty day moving average price is $3.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.58. The company has a market cap of $931.04 million, a PE ratio of -16.93 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.02.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Akebia Therapeutics news, CFO Erik Ostrowski sold 41,314 shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.67, for a total transaction of $151,622.38. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 503,586 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,848,160.62. This trade represents a 7.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 15,000 shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.01, for a total transaction of $60,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 266,914 shares in the company, valued at $1,070,325.14. This trade represents a 5.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 69,648 shares of company stock valued at $258,841 over the last 90 days. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. PDS Planning Inc lifted its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 11.1% during the 2nd quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 50,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $182,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Abel Hall LLC bought a new position in Akebia Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $99,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 171.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,724,439 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $5,231,000 after purchasing an additional 1,722,245 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.

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