Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

Separately, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $7.50 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Up 2.6 %

AKBA opened at $1.94 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1.90 and a 200-day moving average of $1.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $423.27 million, a P/E ratio of -8.43 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) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $37.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.66 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.08) EPS. On average, analysts expect that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 3,122.2% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 604,551 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $617,000 after buying an additional 585,789 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 4,915.4% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 247,060 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 242,134 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,914,800 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,993,000 after acquiring an additional 262,700 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 40.7% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 31,221 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 9,037 shares during the period. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Akebia Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $44,000. 33.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.