BTIG Research Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA)

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by BTIG Research in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $4.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. BTIG Research’s target price indicates a potential upside of 203.03% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $6.00 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Akebia Therapeutics from $6.00 to $4.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered Akebia Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Akebia Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5.25.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Down 4.3%

Shares of AKBA opened at $1.32 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $353.60 million, a PE ratio of -65.97 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a fifty day moving average of $1.35 and a 200 day moving average of $1.78. Akebia Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $1.14 and a 52-week high of $4.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by ($0.02). Akebia Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 16.70% and a negative net margin of 2.26%.The business had revenue of $57.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.37 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akebia Therapeutics

In other news, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 49,524 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.39, for a total transaction of $68,838.36. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 299,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $416,152.10. This trade represents a 14.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John P. Butler purchased 69,270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1.25 per share, for a total transaction of $86,587.50. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 3,367,064 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,208,830. This trade represents a 2.10% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 697.8% in the fourth 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. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Akebia Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $75,000. XTX Topco Ltd grew its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 1,136.8% in the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 472,485 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $761,000 after purchasing an additional 434,284 shares during the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC grew its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 299.4% in the fourth quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC now owns 72,817 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 54,585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oxford Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in Akebia Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $161,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

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.