Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Upgraded to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on AKBA. Leerink Partners downgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $1.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research raised Akebia Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Westpark Capital started coverage on Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $4.50 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $3.90.

Akebia Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ AKBA opened at $0.95 on Friday. Akebia Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $0.81 and a 52 week high of $3.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $263.73 million, a P/E ratio of -8.65 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $1.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $1.19.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $49.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.85 million. Akebia Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 13.54% and a negative return on equity of 88.88%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Akebia Therapeutics

In related news, CFO Erik Ostrowski sold 56,019 shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.11, for a total transaction of $62,181.09. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 616,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $684,443.76. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 4.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $22,784,000. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 470.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,646,233 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,954,000 after purchasing an additional 3,006,771 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 166.2% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,706,437 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,577,000 after purchasing an additional 2,938,624 shares during the period. MPM Bioimpact LLC bought a new position in Akebia Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $10,516,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 528.1% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,400,757 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,554,000 after purchasing an additional 2,018,547 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

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.