Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Receives “Buy” Rating from HC Wainwright

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by investment analysts at HC Wainwright in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $7.50 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s target price suggests a potential upside of 298.91% from the stock’s current price.

Separately, StockNews.com raised Akebia Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th.

Akebia Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ AKBA traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $1.88. 973,014 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,039,976. Akebia Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $0.80 and a 52 week high of $2.48. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $1.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1.55. The company has a market cap of $410.20 million, a PE ratio of -8.17 and a beta of 0.72.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.66 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.08) EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 9,037 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Akebia Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the third quarter worth $59,000. Hedge funds and other 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.