Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Price Target Raised to $6.00 at Piper Sandler

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Free Report) had its price target raised by Piper Sandler from $4.00 to $6.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the biopharmaceutical company's stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on AKBA. StockNews.com cut Akebia Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $7.50 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Friday.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AKBA traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $2.55. The stock had a trading volume of 4,972,795 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,024,010. The company has a market capitalization of $556.36 million, a P/E ratio of -11.09 and a beta of 0.94. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $2.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.79. Akebia Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $0.80 and a 52 week high of $2.58.

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Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $46.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.36 million. As a group, analysts expect that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Akebia Therapeutics

In related news, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 30,202 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total value of $63,424.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 280,248 shares in the company, valued at $588,520.80. This trade represents a 9.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 816,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,714,091.40. This represents a 5.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 280,579 shares of company stock worth $589,216 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics in the third quarter worth $59,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $104,000. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 26.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 682,038 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $900,000 after acquiring an additional 140,529 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 205.8% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 46,270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 31,137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 25.7% during the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 68,064 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 13,907 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.