Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Trading Down 4.4% - What's Next?

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 4.4% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $2.31 and last traded at $2.29. Approximately 801,028 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 2,672,856 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.39.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on AKBA shares. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $7.50 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com cut shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th.

Akebia Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1.93 and a 200-day moving average of $1.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $522.54 million, a P/E ratio of -10.41 and a beta of 0.72.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $37.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $45.66 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.08) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Akebia Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 40.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 31,221 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 9,037 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $44,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Akebia Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $44,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Akebia Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $59,000. Institutional investors own 33.92% of the company's stock.

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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