Leerink Partnrs Issues Pessimistic Outlook for AKBA Earnings

Key Points

• Leerink Partners has downgraded its FY2028 earnings per share estimate for Akebia Therapeutics from $0.55 to $0.47.
• A number of analysts currently rate Akebia Therapeutics as a "Buy," with a consensus target price of $6.75.
• Akebia Therapeutics recently faced insider selling, with significant shares sold by both the CAO and CFO, indicating potential concerns from company leadership.

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA - Free Report) - Analysts at Leerink Partnrs reduced their FY2028 earnings per share estimates for Akebia Therapeutics in a report released on Thursday, August 21st. Leerink Partnrs analyst R. Ruiz now expects that the biopharmaceutical company will earn $0.47 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $0.55. The consensus estimate for Akebia Therapeutics' current full-year earnings is ($0.30) per share.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on AKBA. Wall Street Zen upgraded Akebia Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 3rd. Zacks Research cut shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, HC Wainwright assumed coverage on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $8.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $6.75.

Akebia Therapeutics Trading Up 0.3%

NASDAQ AKBA traded up $0.01 on Monday, reaching $3.14. The company had a trading volume of 2,510,780 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,293,497. The firm has a market cap of $832.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.47 and a beta of 0.96. Akebia Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $1.24 and a fifty-two week high of $4.08. The business has a 50 day moving average of $3.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.84.

Institutional Trading of Akebia Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Abel Hall LLC bought a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Mariner LLC bought a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Akebia Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $59,000. Unified Investment Management raised its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 47.8% in the first quarter. Unified Investment Management now owns 17,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 5,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP bought a new position in Akebia Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $62,000. 33.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Erik Ostrowski sold 41,314 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.67, for a total transaction of $151,622.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 503,586 shares in the company, valued at $1,848,160.62. The trade was a 7.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 15,000 shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.01, for a total transaction of $60,150.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 266,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,070,325.14. This represents a 5.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 69,648 shares of company stock valued at $258,841 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

About Akebia Therapeutics

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of therapeutics for patients with kidney diseases. The company's lead product investigational product candidate is Vafseo (vadadustat), an oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase, which is in Phase III development for the treatment of anemia due to chronic kidney disease (CKD) in dialysis-dependent and non-dialysis dependent patients.