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

HC Wainwright reissued their buy rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Free Report) in a research report report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $7.50 target price on the biopharmaceutical company's stock.

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of AKBA stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $1.89. 2,193,639 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,199,668. The company's 50 day moving average price is $1.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.55. The company has a market cap of $412.36 million, a P/E ratio of -8.22 and a beta of 0.72. Akebia Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $0.80 and a 12 month high of $2.48.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $45.66 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.08) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AKBA. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,754,464 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $6,277,000 after purchasing an additional 218,172 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 262,700 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 24.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,430,527 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,528,000 after acquiring an additional 683,287 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 26.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 682,038 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $900,000 after acquiring an additional 140,529 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 3,122.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 604,551 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 585,789 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.92% of the company's stock.

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.