BTIG Research Reaffirms "Buy" Rating for Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA)

Key Points

• BTIG Research reaffirmed its “Buy” rating on Akebia Therapeutics and set a $4.00 price target, implying 315.41% potential upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed overall: four analysts rate the stock Buy, two Hold, and one Sell, resulting in a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $3.90.
• Akebia reported quarterly EPS of $(0.02), beating the $(0.04) consensus estimate, while revenue of $49.13 million slightly exceeded expectations; the stock opened at $0.96 and remains unprofitable.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by equities researchers at BTIG Research in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $4.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. BTIG Research's price target points to a potential upside of 315.41% from the company's previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings cut Akebia Therapeutics from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note 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 objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $3.90.

Akebia Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AKBA opened at $0.96 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $1.10 and a 200 day moving average of $1.19. The firm has a market cap of $266.83 million, a PE ratio of -8.75 and a beta of 0.19. Akebia Therapeutics has a one year low of $0.81 and a one year high of $3.20.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Akebia Therapeutics news, CFO Erik Ostrowski sold 56,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.11, for a total value of $62,181.09. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 616,616 shares in the company, valued at $684,443.76. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 4.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Akebia Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Akebia Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in Akebia Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 18,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.92% of the company's stock.

Akebia Therapeutics Company Profile

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing treatments for patients with kidney disease and related conditions. The company's research and commercial activities center on therapies intended to address anemia associated with chronic kidney disease, iron deficiency, and other complications affecting people with impaired kidney function.

Akebia's lead product is Vafseo (vadadustat), an oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor approved in the United States for the treatment of anemia due to chronic kidney disease in adults on dialysis.

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