Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold Rating

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Akebia Therapeutics from “sell” to “hold.” MarketBeat’s analyst consensus is also “Hold,” with four Buy, two Hold, and one Sell rating and an average price target of $3.90.
• AKBA opened at $0.95, near its 52-week low of $0.81 and well below its 52-week high of $3.20. The company reported quarterly revenue of $49.13 million and an adjusted loss of $0.02 per share, beating analyst expectations.
• Akebia is developing vadadustat, an oral therapy candidate for anemia associated with chronic kidney disease. Institutional investors own 33.92% of the stock, while insiders own 4.30%; the CFO recently sold shares to cover tax obligations tied to vested equity awards.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on AKBA. Westpark Capital began coverage on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $4.50 price objective for the company. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Leerink Partners cut 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 research report on Friday, August 7th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Akebia Therapeutics from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Akebia Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $3.90.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ AKBA opened at $0.95 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $263.73 million, a P/E ratio of -8.65 and a beta of 0.19. Akebia Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $0.81 and a 1-year high of $3.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $1.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1.19.

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

Insider Activity at Akebia Therapeutics

In related news, CFO Erik Ostrowski sold 56,019 shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.11, for a total value of $62,181.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Akebia Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Akebia Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 697.8% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 20,622 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 18,037 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.92% of the company's stock.

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.