Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Stock Gets Downgrade from Wall Street Zen

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other analysts have also commented on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Akebia Therapeutics from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Westpark Capital initiated coverage on Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $4.50 target price on the stock. Zacks Research raised Akebia Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $4.00 price target on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Four investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $3.90.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ AKBA opened at $0.57 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $157.09 million, a PE ratio of -5.15 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $0.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $1.07. Akebia Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $0.54 and a 52 week high of $3.20.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 697.8% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 20,622 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 18,037 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Akebia Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

Akebia Therapeutics Company Profile

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for patients with kidney disease and related conditions. The company’s primary areas of interest include anemia associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD), iron deficiency, and disorders involving mineral metabolism.

Akebia’s key product is Vafseo (vadadustat), an oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor designed to stimulate the body’s natural production of erythropoietin and support red blood cell formation.