Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Westpark Capital

Key Points

• Westpark Capital initiated coverage of Akebia Therapeutics with a “buy” rating and a $4.50 price target, implying approximately 361% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: four analysts rate the stock Buy, two Hold, and one Sell, resulting in a consensus “Hold” rating and a $3.90 average target price.
• Akebia shares traded around $0.98, while the company reported quarterly revenue of $49.13 million and an adjusted loss of $0.02 per share, beating analysts’ expectations.

Analysts at Westpark Capital started coverage on shares of Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm set a "buy" rating and a $4.50 price target on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Westpark Capital's target price would suggest a potential upside of 361.07% from the company's previous close.

AKBA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Leerink Partners downgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $1.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, August 7th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Akebia Therapeutics has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $3.90.

Akebia Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AKBA traded up $0.00 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $0.98. 666,756 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,496,942. The stock has a market cap of $270.46 million, a PE ratio of -8.87 and a beta of 0.19. The business's fifty day moving average is $1.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.19. Akebia Therapeutics has a one year low of $0.81 and a one year high of $3.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $49.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $48.85 million. Akebia Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 13.54% and a negative return on equity of 88.88%. As a group, analysts predict that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Akebia Therapeutics

In other news, CFO Erik Ostrowski sold 56,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.11, for a total transaction of $62,181.09. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 616,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $684,443.76. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nantahala Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $2,280,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $22,784,000. Polymer Capital Management US LLC raised its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 49.5% during the 3rd quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC now owns 18,232 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 6,034 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $523,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $336,000. 33.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.