Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Upgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on AKBA. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $4.00 to $6.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $7.50 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Friday.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock opened at $2.40 on Monday. Akebia Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $0.80 and a 1 year high of $2.48. The company has a market capitalization of $523.63 million, a P/E ratio of -10.43 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s fifty day moving average is $2.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.79.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $46.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.36 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Akebia Therapeutics news, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 30,202 shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total transaction of $63,424.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 280,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $588,520.80. The trade was a 9.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John P. Butler sold 144,250 shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total transaction of $302,925.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,604,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,469,093. The trade was a 5.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 280,579 shares of company stock valued at $589,216. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealth Effects LLC boosted its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Effects LLC now owns 32,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 98,618 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $187,000 after acquiring an additional 8,000 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 10.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 98,546 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 9,662 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 137,905 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 11,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 126,380 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 12,232 shares in the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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 patients.