Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

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

AKBA has been the subject of several other research reports. Leerink Partners downgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $1.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, August 7th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research raised Akebia Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Westpark Capital started coverage on Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $4.50 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Akebia Therapeutics from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Akebia Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $3.90.

Akebia Therapeutics Trading Up 1.2%

AKBA opened at $0.96 on Friday. Akebia Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $0.81 and a 52 week high of $3.20. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.19. The firm has a market cap of $266.83 million, a P/E ratio of -8.75 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $49.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.85 million. Akebia Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 88.88% and a negative net margin of 13.54%. On average, equities analysts expect that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Erik Ostrowski sold 56,019 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.11, for a total value of $62,181.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 616,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $684,443.76. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AKBA. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake 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 valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 18,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 33.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Akebia Therapeutics Company Profile

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing treatments for patients with kidney disease and related conditions. The company’s research and commercial activities center on therapies intended to address anemia associated with chronic kidney disease, iron deficiency, and other complications affecting people with impaired kidney function.

Akebia’s lead product is Vafseo (vadadustat), an oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor approved in the United States for the treatment of anemia due to chronic kidney disease in adults on dialysis.