Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Price Target Raised to $6.00

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) had its target price lifted by stock analysts at HC Wainwright from $5.00 to $6.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s price target suggests a potential upside of 201.51% from the company’s current price.

AKBA has been the topic of a number of other reports. StockNews.com lowered Akebia Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $4.00 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 29th.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Down 11.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AKBA traded down $0.25 during trading on Thursday, hitting $1.99. The stock had a trading volume of 42,733,060 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,881,934. Akebia Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $0.49 and a 12-month high of $2.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $416.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.18 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $1.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1.29.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.04). The company had revenue of $56.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.04) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Akebia Therapeutics

In other news, SVP Steven Keith Burke sold 24,311 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.68, for a total transaction of $40,842.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 711,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,195,111.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Steven Keith Burke sold 24,311 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.68, for a total value of $40,842.48. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 711,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,195,111.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John P. Butler sold 37,733 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.52, for a total value of $57,354.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,091,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,178,548. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 187,893 shares of company stock valued at $300,598. 3.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Akebia Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 37.6% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 23,159 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 6,330 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 310,368 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $385,000 after acquiring an additional 8,247 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 48.0% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 29,917 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 9,696 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 18.4% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 70,350 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 10,925 shares during the period. Finally, Archer Investment Corp purchased a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. 33.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 adult patients.