Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Stock Price Up 10.9% – Time to Buy?

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA)’s share price shot up 10.9% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $2.30 and last traded at $2.30. 1,941,937 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 19% from the average session volume of 2,395,945 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.07.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AKBA. StockNews.com cut Akebia Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $7.50 price target on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Thursday.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $521.45 million, a PE ratio of -10.39 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s 50-day moving average is $1.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.61.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $37.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.66 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.08) EPS. On average, analysts predict that Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.3 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Akebia Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AKBA. Wealth Effects LLC boosted its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Effects LLC now owns 32,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 40.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 31,221 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 9,037 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 98,546 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 9,662 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 25.7% during the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 68,064 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 13,907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 205.8% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 46,270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 31,137 shares during the period. 33.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.