StockNews.com Upgrades Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) to “Hold”

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

AKBA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $6.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $7.50 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $4.00 to $6.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Up 6.5 %

Shares of AKBA opened at $1.65 on Thursday. Akebia Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $0.80 and a 52-week high of $2.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $389.78 million, a PE ratio of -7.17 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $1.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $1.87.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $46.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.36 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Akebia Therapeutics news, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 30,202 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total transaction of $63,424.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 280,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $588,520.80. This represents a 9.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nicholas Grund sold 55,621 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total transaction of $116,804.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 442,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $929,415.90. The trade was a 11.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 280,579 shares of company stock worth $589,216. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Akebia Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AKBA. Wealth Effects LLC raised its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Effects LLC now owns 32,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 98,618 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $187,000 after acquiring an additional 8,000 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 98,546 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 9,662 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 137,905 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 11,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 126,380 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 12,232 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.