Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by ($0.02), FiscalAI reports. Akebia Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 7.07% and a negative return on equity of 137.67%. The business had revenue of $57.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.37 million.

Here are the key takeaways from Akebia Therapeutics’ conference call:

• Vafseo adoption is accelerating — more than 1,000 prescribers at 24 dialysis organizations have written prescriptions and 290,000 patients have access under protocols, with improving first-refill adherence (~87% overall; ~91% in observed-dosing patients) and early Q1 momentum.
• Vafseo demand was softer in Q4 due to adherence challenges and a USRC distribution change that caused a one-time inventory drawdown (about a $4.8M impact), leaving Q4 net Vafseo revenue at $6.2M despite roughly $11M in demand.
• Clinical and economic data are building a case for Vafseo — INNO2VATE post-hoc analyses showed lower death/hospitalization versus ESAs and an ADC cost analysis reported ~7.7% fewer hospitalizations, ~16% fewer hospitalization days and ~$3,700 annual hospitalization savings per patient, with VOCAL (late 2026) and VOICE (early 2027) as key upcoming catalysts.
• Management is expanding into rare kidney disease as a new value driver, planning an AKB-097 phase 2 basket trial in H2 2026, a praliciguat FSGS Phase 2 (~60 patients) and an AKB-9090 Phase 1 in H1 2026, with an R&D day on April 2 to provide program details.
• Financial profile strengthened in 2025 — total revenues rose to $236.2M (Vafseo $45.8M), net loss narrowed to $5.3M, and cash was $184.8M with management stating runway of at least two years, though Auryxia revenue is expected to decline in 2026 due to broader generic competition.

Akebia Therapeutics Price Performance

AKBA stock traded up $0.09 during trading on Thursday, hitting $1.30. 3,620,040 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,332,616. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.13. Akebia Therapeutics has a one year low of $1.14 and a one year high of $4.08. The stock has a market cap of $343.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.50 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AKBA. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Akebia Therapeutics from $6.00 to $4.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $6.00 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. BTIG Research cut their target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Akebia Therapeutics news, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 49,524 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.39, for a total value of $68,838.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 299,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $416,152.10. The trade was a 14.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 23.0% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,393 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 13.1% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 176,961 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 20,499 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 9.1% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 137,897 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 11,517 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 171.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,724,439 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,231,000 after acquiring an additional 1,722,245 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 123.0% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,652,746 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,016,000 after acquiring an additional 911,585 shares during the period. 33.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.