Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the seven research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $3.90.

AKBA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Akebia Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Westpark Capital started coverage on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $4.50 target price on the stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Erik Ostrowski sold 56,019 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.11, for a total transaction of $62,181.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 616,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $684,443.76. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 26.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 23,279 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 4,798 shares in the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC grew its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 49.5% during the third quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC now owns 18,232 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 6,034 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 164,655 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $265,000 after acquiring an additional 8,103 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 16.8% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 59,502 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $217,000 after acquiring an additional 8,568 shares in the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AKBA opened at $0.95 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $263.73 million, a PE ratio of -8.65 and a beta of 0.19. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $1.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.35. Akebia Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $0.81 and a 12 month high of $3.20.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $49.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.