StockNews.com Downgrades Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) to Sell

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

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Akebia Therapeutics from $4.00 to $6.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $6.00 price objective for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $7.50 price target on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, March 14th.

Akebia Therapeutics Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ AKBA traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $1.93. 3,211,783 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,764,197. Akebia Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $0.80 and a 12 month high of $2.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $455.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.39 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $2.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $1.85.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $46.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.36 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.3 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Akebia Therapeutics news, SVP Steven Keith Burke sold 50,506 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total transaction of $106,062.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 816,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,714,091.40. This represents a 5.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 30,202 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total transaction of $63,424.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 280,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $588,520.80. This trade represents a 9.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 280,579 shares of company stock worth $589,216 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Effects LLC boosted its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Effects LLC now owns 32,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 98,618 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $187,000 after acquiring an additional 8,000 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 10.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 98,546 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 9,662 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 137,905 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 11,257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 126,380 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 12,232 shares during the period. 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.