Jefferies Financial Group Begins Coverage on Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA)

Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $6.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 210.88% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Akebia Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $7.50 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $4.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th.

Akebia Therapeutics Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AKBA opened at $1.93 on Tuesday. Akebia Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $0.80 and a twelve month high of $2.89. The firm has a market cap of $455.93 million, a P/E ratio of -8.39 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50 day moving average of $2.06 and a 200-day moving average of $1.85.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $46.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.36 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Akebia Therapeutics

In related news, CEO John P. Butler sold 144,250 shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total value of $302,925.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,604,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,469,093. This trade represents a 5.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Steven Keith Burke sold 50,506 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total value of $106,062.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 816,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,714,091.40. The trade was a 5.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 280,579 shares of company stock valued at $589,216 over the last three months. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AKBA. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,884,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $20,680,000 after purchasing an additional 813,902 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,795,095 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,112,000 after buying an additional 40,631 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,823,527 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,265,000 after buying an additional 105,727 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 24.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,430,527 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,528,000 after buying an additional 683,287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,685,641 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,203,000 after buying an additional 50,542 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 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.