HC Wainwright Expects Lower Earnings for Akebia Therapeutics

Key Points

• HC Wainwright lowered its FY2030 EPS estimate for Akebia Therapeutics to $0.11 from $0.18, while keeping a Buy rating and a $6.00 price target.
• Akebia reported a quarterly loss of ($0.03) per share, missing estimates, though revenue of $53.54 million came in above expectations.
• Sentiment on the stock is mixed: several analysts recently cut ratings, and MarketBeat’s consensus currently shows Hold with an average price target of $4.67.

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA - Free Report) - Research analysts at HC Wainwright cut their FY2030 earnings per share estimates for Akebia Therapeutics in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, May 8th. HC Wainwright analyst M. Caufield now anticipates that the biopharmaceutical company will post earnings per share of $0.11 for the year, down from their previous forecast of $0.18. HC Wainwright currently has a "Buy" rating and a $6.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Akebia Therapeutics' current full-year earnings is $0.03 per share.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $53.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $51.67 million. Akebia Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 62.72% and a negative net margin of 8.83%.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $4.00 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $6.00 to $4.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Akebia Therapeutics presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $4.67.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock opened at $1.16 on Monday. Akebia Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $1.13 and a fifty-two week high of $4.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $311.18 million, a P/E ratio of -14.50 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a fifty day moving average of $1.38 and a 200 day moving average of $1.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Akebia Therapeutics news, CEO John P. Butler purchased 69,270 shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $1.25 per share, for a total transaction of $86,587.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,367,064 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,208,830. This trade represents a 2.10% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Akebia Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new position in Akebia Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $1,215,000. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 1,324.7% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,916,692 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $5,233,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782,162 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $803,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 834.9% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 146,078 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 130,453 shares during the period. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 89.7% during the 3rd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 481,869 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,316,000 after purchasing an additional 227,915 shares during the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Akebia Therapeutics

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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