Akebia's Market Potential Undervalued By The Street, Says JMP

JMP reiterated its Market Outperform rating and $16 price target on Akebia Therapeutics Inc AKBA. The company reported a 2Q16 net loss of $35.8 million, or ($0.95) per share vs. JMP's estimate of ($0.59) per share. It also announced initiation of the Phase III INNO2VATE trial of vadadustat in dialysis-dependent patients with anemia related to CKD.

The analysts believe the execution of pipeline milestones represents a more valuable measure of the company's progress than earnings.

"We believe AKBA has a clinical candidate with significant market potential that is currently undervalued by the Street. In our opinion, vadadustat compares favorably to other products under development and has the potential to capture a significant share of the CDK anemia market," wrote JMP.

According to the analysts, the efficacy data for vadadustat look compelling, and they have a high degree of confidence in the management team's ability to advance and commercialize the vadadustat program.