Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Rating Increased 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 issued on Tuesday morning.

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

Akebia Therapeutics Price Performance

AKBA stock opened at $1.86 on Tuesday. Akebia Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $0.80 and a 12 month high of $2.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $405.82 million, a PE ratio of -8.09 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $1.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1.52.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $37.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.66 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.08) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AKBA. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 3,122.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 604,551 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $617,000 after acquiring an additional 585,789 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 4,915.4% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 247,060 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 242,134 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 7.2% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,914,800 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,993,000 after purchasing an additional 262,700 shares in the last quarter. 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 valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 9,037 shares during the period. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. 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.