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

Key Points

• BTIG Research reaffirmed a "Buy" rating on Akebia with a $4.00 price target, implying roughly a 203% upside from the current share price.
• The analyst picture is mixed but leans positive, with a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" and a $5.25 average target (ratings split: 1 Strong Buy, 3 Buy, 2 Sell).
• Akebia reported Q results with EPS of ($0.05) (missing estimates) but revenue of $57.6M (above estimates); the stock trades around $1.32 with a $353.6M market cap, and CEO John Butler recently bought 69,270 shares at $1.25.

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 currently have a $4.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. BTIG Research's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 203.03% from the stock's current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Zacks Research downgraded Akebia Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Akebia Therapeutics from $6.00 to $4.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $6.00 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Akebia Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5.25.

Akebia Therapeutics Trading Down 4.3%

AKBA stock opened at $1.32 on Tuesday. Akebia Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $1.14 and a 1-year high of $4.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The company has a market capitalization of $353.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -65.97 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1.78.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by ($0.02). Akebia Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 16.70% and a negative net margin of 2.26%.The business had revenue of $57.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.37 million. Research analysts anticipate that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John P. Butler purchased 69,270 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $1.25 per share, for a total transaction of $86,587.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,367,064 shares in the company, valued at $4,208,830. This represents a 2.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 49,524 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.39, for a total value of $68,838.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 299,390 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $416,152.10. This represents a 14.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Akebia Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 697.8% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 20,622 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 18,037 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $75,000. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 1,136.8% in the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 472,485 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $761,000 after buying an additional 434,284 shares during the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC lifted its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 299.4% in the fourth quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC now owns 72,817 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 54,585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oxford Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $161,000. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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