Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Hits New 52-Week High Following Earnings Beat

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $2.90 and last traded at $2.62, with a volume of 4867572 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.46.

The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $57.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.88 million.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $6.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price objective 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. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $7.50 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Leerink Partners began coverage on Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Monday, April 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $7.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised Akebia Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $6.63.

Institutional Trading of Akebia Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Effects LLC increased its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 18.5% during 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. Unified Investment Management increased its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 47.8% in the 1st quarter. Unified Investment Management now owns 17,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 5,500 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 98,618 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 8,000 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 10.9% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 137,905 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 11,257 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Up 6.7 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $2.05 and a 200 day moving average of $1.98. The company has a market capitalization of $687.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.41 and a beta of 0.88.

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.