Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Upgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group began 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. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $7.50 price target on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Friday, April 4th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Akebia Therapeutics from $4.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Leerink Partnrs raised Akebia Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, April 28th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $7.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Akebia Therapeutics currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $6.63.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Up 2.5 %

AKBA stock opened at $2.45 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $578.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.65 and a beta of 0.87. Akebia Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $0.80 and a 52-week high of $2.89. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $2.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1.95.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $46.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.36 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akebia Therapeutics

In other Akebia Therapeutics news, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 30,202 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total value of $63,424.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 280,248 shares of the company's stock, valued at $588,520.80. The trade was a 9.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Nicholas Grund sold 55,621 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total transaction of $116,804.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 442,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,415.90. The trade was a 11.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 280,579 shares of company stock valued at $589,216 in the last 90 days. 4.10% 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 added to or reduced their stakes in AKBA. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 276.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 273,085 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 200,482 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 502,127 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $954,000 after acquiring an additional 97,409 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 0.9% in the fourth 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 period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 265,389 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 22,513 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,884,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $20,680,000 after purchasing an additional 813,902 shares during the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is currently 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.

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