Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by ($0.02), FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $57.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.37 million. Akebia Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 7.07% and a negative return on equity of 137.67%.

Here are the key takeaways from Akebia Therapeutics’ conference call:

• Vafseo adoption is accelerating — more than 1,000 prescribers at 24 dialysis organizations have written prescriptions and 290,000 patients have access under protocols, with improving first-refill adherence (~87% overall; ~91% in observed-dosing patients) and early Q1 momentum.
• Vafseo demand was softer in Q4 due to adherence challenges and a USRC distribution change that caused a one-time inventory drawdown (about a $4.8M impact), leaving Q4 net Vafseo revenue at $6.2M despite roughly $11M in demand.
• Clinical and economic data are building a case for Vafseo — INNO2VATE post-hoc analyses showed lower death/hospitalization versus ESAs and an ADC cost analysis reported ~7.7% fewer hospitalizations, ~16% fewer hospitalization days and ~$3,700 annual hospitalization savings per patient, with VOCAL (late 2026) and VOICE (early 2027) as key upcoming catalysts.
• Management is expanding into rare kidney disease as a new value driver, planning an AKB-097 phase 2 basket trial in H2 2026, a praliciguat FSGS Phase 2 (~60 patients) and an AKB-9090 Phase 1 in H1 2026, with an R&D day on April 2 to provide program details.
• Financial profile strengthened in 2025 — total revenues rose to $236.2M (Vafseo $45.8M), net loss narrowed to $5.3M, and cash was $184.8M with management stating runway of at least two years, though Auryxia revenue is expected to decline in 2026 due to broader generic competition.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AKBA traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $1.30. 3,620,040 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,332,616. The company has a market cap of $343.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.50 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $1.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.13. Akebia Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $1.14 and a 52 week high of $4.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.80.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $6.00 to $4.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen cut Akebia Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. BTIG Research lowered their price objective on Akebia Therapeutics from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Akebia Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 49,524 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.39, for a total value of $68,838.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 299,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $416,152.10. This represents a 14.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS Group AG grew its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 470.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,646,233 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,954,000 after purchasing an additional 3,006,771 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 166.2% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,706,437 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,577,000 after purchasing an additional 2,938,624 shares during the period. MPM Bioimpact LLC purchased a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $10,516,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 528.1% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,400,757 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,554,000 after buying an additional 2,018,547 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,687,561 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $22,037,000 after acquiring an additional 1,842,792 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

Akebia Therapeutics Company Profile

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is focused on the development and commercialization of therapies for patients with kidney disease. The company’s lead product candidate, vadadustat, is an investigational oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor designed to treat anemia associated with chronic kidney disease in both dialysis-dependent and non-dialysis patients. Akebia’s research and development efforts also extend to preclinical programs targeting nephrology and related metabolic disorders.

Since its founding in 2007, Akebia has pursued strategic collaborations to advance its clinical pipeline and expand its market reach.