Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Lifted to “Buy” at StockNews.com

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

Separately, HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Down 2.2 %

AKBA stock traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $1.36. The company had a trading volume of 2,954,603 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,380,796. The firm has a market capitalization of $284.75 million, a P/E ratio of -4.86 and a beta of 0.79. Akebia Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $0.59 and a 52-week high of $2.48. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.33.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.04). The company had revenue of $56.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.64 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.04) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akebia Therapeutics

In other Akebia Therapeutics news, SVP Steven Keith Burke sold 24,311 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.68, for a total transaction of $40,842.48. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 711,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,195,111.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO John P. Butler sold 46,489 shares of Akebia Therapeutics 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 $78,101.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,128,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,576,523.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Steven Keith Burke sold 24,311 shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 711,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,195,111.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 187,893 shares of company stock valued at $300,598. Company insiders own 3.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Archer Investment Corp acquired a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 37.6% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 23,159 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 6,330 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA boosted its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 123.7% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 90,540 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 50,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 48.0% in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.