HC Wainwright Reaffirms Buy Rating for Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA)

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities researchers at HC Wainwright in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $7.50 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s price target points to a potential upside of 323.73% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $6.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Akebia Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $4.00 to $6.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

AKBA opened at $1.77 on Friday. Akebia Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $0.80 and a 52 week high of $2.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $418.13 million, a PE ratio of -7.70 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $2.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1.85.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last issued 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.36 million. Equities analysts forecast that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Akebia Therapeutics

In related news, CEO John P. Butler sold 144,250 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 value of $302,925.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,604,330 shares in the company, valued at $5,469,093. This trade represents a 5.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 30,202 shares of the business’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 $63,424.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 280,248 shares in the company, valued at $588,520.80. The trade was a 9.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 280,579 shares of company stock valued at $589,216 in the last 90 days. 4.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Akebia Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Akebia Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. PDS Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Mariner LLC bought a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 33.92% of the stock is currently 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.