Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Upgraded to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on AKBA. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 6th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $4.00 price target on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler reduced their price target 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Akebia Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Akebia Therapeutics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5.25.

Akebia Therapeutics Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of AKBA stock opened at $1.43 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $383.07 million, a P/E ratio of -71.46 and a beta of 0.37. Akebia Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $1.14 and a twelve month high of $4.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $1.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.77.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $57.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.37 million. Akebia Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 16.70% and a negative net margin of 2.26%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Akebia Therapeutics

In other Akebia Therapeutics news, CEO John P. Butler bought 69,270 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,367,064 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,208,830. This trade represents a 2.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 49,524 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 299,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $416,152.10. The trade was a 14.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 697.8% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 20,622 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 18,037 shares in the last quarter. Caption Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,393 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

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.