Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Trading 10.9% Higher – Time to Buy?

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) shares were up 10.9% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $2.30 and last traded at $2.30. Approximately 1,941,937 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 19% from the average daily volume of 2,395,945 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.07.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AKBA shares. StockNews.com lowered Akebia Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $7.50 price target on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Thursday.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $1.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.61. The company has a market capitalization of $521.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.39 and a beta of 0.72.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $37.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.66 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.08) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AKBA. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 9,037 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Effects LLC increased its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Effects LLC now owns 32,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $73,000. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $44,000. 33.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.