Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com lowered shares of Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Monday.

Separately, HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th.

Akebia Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:AKBA opened at $1.32 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $276.37 million, a P/E ratio of -4.71 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $1.34. Akebia Therapeutics has a one year low of $0.78 and a one year high of $2.48.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $56.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.04) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.28 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Akebia Therapeutics news, SVP Steven Keith Burke sold 24,311 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.68, for a total value of $40,842.48. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 711,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,195,111.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Akebia Therapeutics news, CEO John P. Butler sold 37,733 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.52, for a total value of $57,354.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,091,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,178,548. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Steven Keith Burke sold 24,311 shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.68, for a total transaction of $40,842.48. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 711,376 shares in the company, valued at $1,195,111.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 187,893 shares of company stock valued at $300,598. 3.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Akebia Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AKBA. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 37.6% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 23,159 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 6,330 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 48.0% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 29,917 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 9,696 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp acquired a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Orchard Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 29.9% during the 4th quarter. Orchard Capital Management LLC now owns 86,826 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Akebia Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

Akebia Therapeutics Company Profile

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.