Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by HC Wainwright

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reiterated by equities research analysts at HC Wainwright in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $7.50 target price on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. HC Wainwright's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 371.70% from the stock's previous close.

Akebia Therapeutics Price Performance

AKBA stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $1.59. 3,033,010 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,154,460. The firm has a market capitalization of $333.26 million, a PE ratio of -6.91 and a beta of 0.77. The business's 50 day moving average price is $1.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.28. Akebia Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $0.78 and a 52-week high of $2.48.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $43.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $45.61 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.06) EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 8.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,225,972 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $15,054,000 after purchasing an additional 618,500 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in 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 worth $617,000 after acquiring an additional 585,789 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 7.2% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 4,915.4% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 247,060 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 242,134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.