Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Upgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Monday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $7.50 price target on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $4.00 to $6.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday.

Akebia Therapeutics Price Performance

AKBA traded up $0.14 on Monday, hitting $2.40. The company had a trading volume of 4,614,984 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,997,802. Akebia Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $0.80 and a 52-week high of $2.48. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $523.63 million, a P/E ratio of -10.43 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Insider Transactions at Akebia Therapeutics

In other Akebia Therapeutics news, CEO John P. Butler sold 144,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total transaction of $302,925.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,604,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,469,093. The trade was a 5.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Steven Keith Burke sold 50,506 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 approximately $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 valued at $589,216 in the last quarter. 4.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Akebia Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics in the third quarter worth about $59,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $104,000. FMR LLC increased 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 worth $900,000 after acquiring an additional 140,529 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 205.8% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 46,270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 31,137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 68,064 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 13,907 shares in the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is 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.