Akebia Therapeutics’ (AKBA) Buy Rating Reiterated at BTIG Research

BTIG Research reissued their buy rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $4.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on AKBA. Wall Street Zen upgraded Akebia Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 12th. Weiss Ratings lowered Akebia Therapeutics from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Westpark Capital started coverage on Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $4.50 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Akebia Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Akebia Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $3.90.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of AKBA stock opened at $0.90 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $248.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.14 and a beta of 0.19. Akebia Therapeutics has a one year low of $0.81 and a one year high of $3.20. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $1.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $1.18.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Akebia Therapeutics

In related news, CFO Erik Ostrowski sold 56,019 shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.11, for a total transaction of $62,181.09. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 616,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $684,443.76. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Akebia Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Akebia Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $22,784,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 22.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,763,362 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,841,000 after buying an additional 505,951 shares during the period. Nantahala Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $2,280,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 32.6% in the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 839,729 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $957,000 after buying an additional 206,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $706,000. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Akebia Therapeutics

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.