Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

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

AKBA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Akebia Therapeutics from $6.00 to $4.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5.40.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of AKBA stock opened at $1.31 on Friday. Akebia Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $1.14 and a fifty-two week high of $4.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $347.63 million, a PE ratio of -65.47 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 1.94. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $1.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.10.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by ($0.02). Akebia Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 2.26% and a negative return on equity of 16.81%. The firm had revenue of $57.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.37 million. Equities analysts expect that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 49,524 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.39, for a total value of $68,838.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 299,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $416,152.10. This represents a 14.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Akebia Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AKBA. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 20.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,074,458 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $22,115,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043,718 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 21.7% in the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,180,759 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,298,000 after buying an additional 210,925 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the third quarter worth about $1,165,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Akebia Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $4,913,000. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 23.4% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 283,330 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,031,000 after acquiring an additional 53,660 shares during the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Akebia Therapeutics

Here are the key news stories impacting Akebia Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reported strong commercial performance — Q4 2025 net product revenue of $54.3M and full‑year 2025 net product revenue of $227.3M (a 49% increase vs. 2024); company expects meaningful Vafseo (vadadustat) revenue growth in 2026 and is advancing clinical programs (praliciguat Phase 2 enrolling for FSGS; AKB‑097 Phase 2 rare kidney disease basket trial planned for 2H 2026). Akebia Therapeutics Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results and Commercial and Pipeline Highlights
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call transcript and highlights are available — the call provides management color on commercial execution, 2026 revenue drivers and pipeline timelines for investors wanting detail on guidance and cadence. Akebia (AKBA) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage roundup published that summarizes current sell/hold/buy positioning and recent analyst comments — useful for gauging consensus and near‑term catalysts. 6AKBA : Where Akebia Therapeutics Stands With Analysts
• Negative Sentiment: EPS miss: Akebia reported ($0.05) EPS vs. consensus ($0.03) — despite revenue beating estimates, the bottom‑line miss and negative net margin / ROE metrics raise near‑term profitability concerns. Akebia Therapeutics Q4 Earnings (MarketBeat)
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst pessimism: BTIG published a bearish forecast for AKBA, which can weigh on sentiment and trading until clearer profitability/growth trajectories are demonstrated. BTIG Research Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Stock Price
• Negative Sentiment: Elevated short interest history — reports show ~31.2M shares short (~12.1% of float) with a ~7.1 days‑to‑cover (as of mid‑Feb), which can amplify downside pressure; note some recent short‑interest entries contain inconsistent/zero values, suggesting data reporting noise that investors should verify with official exchange filings.

Akebia Therapeutics Company Profile

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.