Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:KERX) Cut to Hold at Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:KERX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning.

According to Zacks, “Keryx intends to focus on the growth of Auryxia in the U.S. dialysis market. Meanwhile, the company’s label expansion efforts on Auryxia in the iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) indication seem to be encouraging, given that the IDA market holds great potential. The FDA accepted for review the supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for Auryxia tablets for the same indication and has set the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) target action date as Nov 6, 2017. A potential approval should boost sales.. Moreover, shares of the company have outperformed the Medical-Biomed/Genetic Market in year to date. However, considering that the company is heavily dependent on Auryxia for growth, any further interruption in the supply of Auryxia will hamper its growth trajectory, going forward.”

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Maxim Group lifted their target price on Keryx Biopharmaceuticals from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, May 15th. Cowen and Company reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of Keryx Biopharmaceuticals in a research note on Saturday, June 17th. Finally, ValuEngine cut Keryx Biopharmaceuticals from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Friday, June 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. The company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $8.27.

Shares of Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KERX) opened at 7.17 on Monday. Keryx Biopharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $4.03 and a 52-week high of $8.38. The company has a 50 day moving average of $6.96 and a 200 day moving average of $6.04. The firm’s market capitalization is $777.70 million.

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KERX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.21) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.03. Keryx Biopharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 387.12% and a negative return on equity of 1,122.28%. The business had revenue of $11.82 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.19 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.39) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 73.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Keryx Biopharmaceuticals will post ($0.69) earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KERX. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Keryx Biopharmaceuticals by 11.5% in the first quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 33,736 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $207,000 after buying an additional 3,478 shares during the last quarter. Lincoln Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Keryx Biopharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $158,000. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Keryx Biopharmaceuticals by 3.0% in the first quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 1,340,649 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,258,000 after buying an additional 39,656 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of Keryx Biopharmaceuticals by 29.1% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 66,565 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 15,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new stake in shares of Keryx Biopharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at approximately $434,000. 62.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Keryx Biopharmaceuticals

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of medicines for people with renal disease. The Company is engaged in the manufacture, development and commercialization of products for use in treating human diseases. Its marketed product, Auryxia (ferric citrate), which is an orally available, absorbable, iron-based medicine is approved in the United States for the control of serum phosphorus levels in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) on dialysis.

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