Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Upgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Friday morning.

Separately, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $7.50 price target on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Up 1.6 %

Akebia Therapeutics stock opened at $1.85 on Friday. Akebia Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $0.80 and a 52 week high of $2.48. The firm has a market cap of $403.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.04 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $1.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $1.43.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.66 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.08) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.24 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AKBA. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 9,037 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Akebia Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at $34,000. Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $58,000. 33.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Akebia Therapeutics

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.