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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Separately, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $7.50 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ AKBA opened at $1.79 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $1.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $390.54 million, a P/E ratio of -7.78 and a beta of 0.72. Akebia Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $0.80 and a 52-week high of $2.48.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $37.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.66 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.08) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 40.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 31,221 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 9,037 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 10.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 98,546 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 9,662 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 68,064 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 13,907 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 205.8% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 46,270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 31,137 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Akebia Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.