Akebia Therapeutics’ (AKBA) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright reiterated their buy rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $7.50 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com raised Akebia Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th.

Akebia Therapeutics Price Performance

AKBA stock opened at $1.89 on Tuesday. Akebia Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $0.80 and a 1 year high of $2.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $1.91 and a 200 day moving average of $1.56. The company has a market cap of $412.36 million, a P/E ratio of -8.22 and a beta of 0.72.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $37.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.66 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.08) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AKBA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 98,546 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 9,662 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the third quarter worth $221,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 276.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 273,085 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $360,000 after acquiring an additional 200,482 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 4.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,754,464 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,277,000 after acquiring an additional 218,172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth about $58,000. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.