Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Leerink Partners

Equities research analysts at Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm set an "outperform" rating and a $7.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Leerink Partners' price target would indicate a potential upside of 194.12% from the stock's previous close.

AKBA has been the subject of several other reports. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $4.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com cut Akebia Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $7.50 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $6.63.

Akebia Therapeutics Trading Up 4.4 %

AKBA opened at $2.38 on Monday. Akebia Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $0.80 and a 12 month high of $2.89. The business's 50-day moving average price is $1.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.92. The company has a market cap of $562.23 million, a P/E ratio of -10.35 and a beta of 0.87.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 research analysts forecast that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Nicholas Grund sold 55,621 shares of the business'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 $116,804.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 442,579 shares in the company, valued at $929,415.90. The trade was a 11.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Steven Keith Burke sold 50,506 shares of the company'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 $106,062.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 816,234 shares in the company, valued at $1,714,091.40. This trade represents a 5.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 280,579 shares of company stock valued at $589,216. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Unified Investment Management lifted its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 47.8% during the 1st quarter. Unified Investment Management now owns 17,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 5,500 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc lifted its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 200.0% during the first quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 45,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 30,000 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 6.3% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 282,066 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $542,000 after purchasing an additional 16,677 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 502,127 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $954,000 after purchasing an additional 97,409 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 930.4% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 135,392 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 122,252 shares during the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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