Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Research Coverage Started at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $6.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

AKBA has been the topic of several other reports. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $7.50 price target on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $4.00 to $6.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of AKBA opened at $1.88 on Tuesday. Akebia Therapeutics has a one year low of $0.80 and a one year high of $2.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $2.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $1.85. The company has a market capitalization of $444.11 million, a P/E ratio of -8.17 and a beta of 0.95.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.10) EPS 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. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 30,202 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total value of $63,424.20. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Steven Keith Burke sold 50,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total transaction of $106,062.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 816,234 shares in the company, valued at $1,714,091.40. This represents a 5.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 280,579 shares of company stock worth $589,216. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AKBA. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Akebia Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. PDS Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Mariner LLC acquired a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 33.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.