HC Wainwright Reiterates Buy Rating for Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA)

HC Wainwright reiterated their buy rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $7.50 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Akebia Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th.

Akebia Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AKBA opened at $2.26 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $493.09 million, a PE ratio of -9.83 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $2.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1.78. Akebia Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $0.80 and a 1 year high of $2.48.

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 the consensus estimate 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Steven Keith Burke sold 50,506 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total transaction 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 represents a 5.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 30,202 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total value of $63,424.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 280,248 shares in the company, valued at $588,520.80. This trade represents a 9.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 280,579 shares of company stock valued at $589,216. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Akebia Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 930.4% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 135,392 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 122,252 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $342,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 49.0% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 58,585 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 19,277 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 738.0% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 169,647 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 149,402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 126,380 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 12,232 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

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.