Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also commented on AKBA. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $6.00 price target on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Akebia Therapeutics from $6.00 to $4.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. BTIG Research lowered their target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Akebia Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5.40.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AKBA opened at $1.31 on Thursday. Akebia Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $1.14 and a 12-month high of $4.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $347.63 million, a PE ratio of -65.47 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $1.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.11.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 2.26% and a negative return on equity of 16.81%. The company had revenue of $57.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.37 million. Research analysts anticipate that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akebia Therapeutics

In related news, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 49,524 shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.39, for a total value of $68,838.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 299,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $416,152.10. The trade was a 14.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 23.0% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,393 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 13.1% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 176,961 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 20,499 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 9.1% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 137,897 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 11,517 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 171.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,724,439 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,231,000 after purchasing an additional 1,722,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 540.6% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 22,633 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 19,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Akebia Therapeutics

Here are the key news stories impacting Akebia Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reported strong commercial performance — Q4 2025 net product revenue of $54.3M and full‑year 2025 net product revenue of $227.3M (a 49% increase vs. 2024); company expects meaningful Vafseo (vadadustat) revenue growth in 2026 and is advancing clinical programs (praliciguat Phase 2 enrolling for FSGS; AKB‑097 Phase 2 rare kidney disease basket trial planned for 2H 2026). Akebia Therapeutics Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results and Commercial and Pipeline Highlights
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call transcript and highlights are available — the call provides management color on commercial execution, 2026 revenue drivers and pipeline timelines for investors wanting detail on guidance and cadence. Akebia (AKBA) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage roundup published that summarizes current sell/hold/buy positioning and recent analyst comments — useful for gauging consensus and near‑term catalysts. 6AKBA : Where Akebia Therapeutics Stands With Analysts
• Negative Sentiment: EPS miss: Akebia reported ($0.05) EPS vs. consensus ($0.03) — despite revenue beating estimates, the bottom‑line miss and negative net margin / ROE metrics raise near‑term profitability concerns. Akebia Therapeutics Q4 Earnings (MarketBeat)
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst pessimism: BTIG published a bearish forecast for AKBA, which can weigh on sentiment and trading until clearer profitability/growth trajectories are demonstrated. BTIG Research Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Stock Price
• Negative Sentiment: Elevated short interest history — reports show ~31.2M shares short (~12.1% of float) with a ~7.1 days‑to‑cover (as of mid‑Feb), which can amplify downside pressure; note some recent short‑interest entries contain inconsistent/zero values, suggesting data reporting noise that investors should verify with official exchange filings.

Akebia Therapeutics Company Profile

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.