Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Downgraded to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Saturday.

AKBA has been the topic of a number of other reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $4.00 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Akebia Therapeutics from $6.00 to $4.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $6.00 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Akebia Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.67.

Akebia Therapeutics Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of AKBA opened at $1.16 on Friday. Akebia Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $1.13 and a 1-year high of $4.08. The company has a 50-day moving average of $1.38 and a 200 day moving average of $1.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $311.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.50 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.46.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $53.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $51.67 million. Akebia Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 59.49% and a negative net margin of 8.83%. On average, research analysts expect that Akebia Therapeutics will post 0.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akebia Therapeutics

In other news, CEO John P. Butler bought 69,270 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $1.25 per share, for a total transaction of $86,587.50. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 3,367,064 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,208,830. This represents a 2.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AKBA. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 697.8% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 20,622 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 18,037 shares during the period. Caption Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,393 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Akebia Therapeutics

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is focused on the development and commercialization of therapies for patients with kidney disease. The company’s lead product candidate, vadadustat, is an investigational oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor designed to treat anemia associated with chronic kidney disease in both dialysis-dependent and non-dialysis patients. Akebia’s research and development efforts also extend to preclinical programs targeting nephrology and related metabolic disorders.

Since its founding in 2007, Akebia has pursued strategic collaborations to advance its clinical pipeline and expand its market reach.