StockNews.com Lowers Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday morning.

Separately, HC Wainwright upped their target price on Akebia Therapeutics from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AKBA opened at $1.24 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $1.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.35. The stock has a market cap of $259.62 million, a P/E ratio of -4.43 and a beta of 0.79. Akebia Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $0.78 and a 1 year high of $2.48.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.04). The business had revenue of $56.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.64 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.04) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.28 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Akebia Therapeutics news, CEO John P. Butler sold 46,570 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.58, for a total transaction of $73,580.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,044,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,230,436.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO John P. Butler sold 37,733 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.52, for a total transaction of $57,354.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,091,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,178,548. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John P. Butler sold 46,570 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.58, for a total value of $73,580.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,044,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,230,436.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 117,093 shares of company stock valued at $181,654. 3.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,447,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 755,488 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $861,000 after buying an additional 93,590 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $248,000. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 311,608.2% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 152,737 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $174,000 after buying an additional 152,688 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orchard Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 29.9% during the 4th quarter. Orchard Capital Management LLC now owns 86,826 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 20,000 shares in the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Akebia Therapeutics Company Profile

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.