Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Wednesday.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $4.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $6.00 price target on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $7.50 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, March 14th.

Akebia Therapeutics Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of AKBA opened at $1.93 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $455.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.39 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $2.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1.85. Akebia Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $0.80 and a twelve month high of $2.89.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $46.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.36 million. On average, analysts predict that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Akebia Therapeutics

In other Akebia Therapeutics news, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 30,202 shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total value of $63,424.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 280,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $588,520.80. This trade represents a 9.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Steven Keith Burke sold 50,506 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total value of $106,062.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 816,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,714,091.40. This trade represents a 5.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 280,579 shares of company stock worth $589,216 in the last 90 days. 4.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AKBA. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth $59,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $104,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 26.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 682,038 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $900,000 after purchasing an additional 140,529 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 205.8% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 46,270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 31,137 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake 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 worth $90,000 after buying an additional 13,907 shares in the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Akebia Therapeutics

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.