Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. BTIG Research restated a buy rating and issued a $4.00 price target on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 29th. HC Wainwright reiterated a buy rating and set a $5.00 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, March 15th.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Down 18.3 %

Akebia Therapeutics stock opened at $1.83 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $383.15 million, a P/E ratio of -6.54 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $1.63 and its 200 day moving average is $1.30. Akebia Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $0.49 and a twelve month high of $2.48.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Akebia Therapeutics

In other Akebia Therapeutics news, CEO John P. Butler sold 46,489 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.68, for a total transaction of $78,101.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,128,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,576,523.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Akebia Therapeutics news, CEO John P. Butler sold 46,489 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.68, for a total transaction of $78,101.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,128,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,576,523.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John P. Butler sold 37,733 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.52, for a total value of $57,354.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,091,150 shares in the company, valued at $3,178,548. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 187,893 shares of company stock worth $300,598. Insiders own 3.84% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,402,988 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,339,000 after buying an additional 1,167,319 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 65.8% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 5,354,175 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,891,000 after buying an additional 2,124,161 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 42.4% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,330,727 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,048,000 after buying an additional 992,227 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,736,856 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,504,000 after purchasing an additional 33,333 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,666,861 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 73,020 shares during the period. 33.92% of the stock is owned by 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 adult patients.