Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Shares Down 6.1% - Should You Sell?

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) shares traded down 6.1% on Friday . The company traded as low as $3.56 and last traded at $3.61. 1,210,448 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 4,140,064 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $6.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 3rd. HC Wainwright assumed coverage on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $8.00 price objective on the stock. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Monday, April 28th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $7.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Akebia Therapeutics has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $6.75.

Akebia Therapeutics Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a current ratio of 2.23. The stock's 50-day moving average is $3.57 and its 200 day moving average is $2.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $921.87 million, a PE ratio of -16.71 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Akebia Therapeutics news, CFO Erik Ostrowski sold 41,314 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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. The trade was a 5.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 69,648 shares of company stock worth $258,841 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 117.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 543,916 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,033,000 after purchasing an additional 294,343 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 502,127 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $954,000 after purchasing an additional 97,409 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 126,380 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 12,232 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 181,048 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 70,663 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,795,095 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $9,112,000 after purchasing an additional 40,631 shares during the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.