Akebia Has Until April 19, 2027 To Lift Its Stock Back Above $1.00 Or Face Delisting Risk
Nasdaq flagged the kidney-drug maker's shares after 30 straight business days below the minimum bid; a reverse stock split is on the table.
Akebia Therapeutics, which develops and sells medicines for people with kidney disease, received a Nasdaq deficiency letter on Wednesday after its stock closed below $1.00 for 30 consecutive business days, the company disclosed in an 8-K filed Friday. The notice has no immediate effect on the listing, and the company says it may consider a reverse stock split.
The 180-day clock
The letter came from Nasdaq's Listing Qualifications Department and cites the minimum bid rule for The Nasdaq Capital Market, Listing Rule 5550(a)(2). Akebia has until April 19, 2027 to get back into compliance.
To do so, the closing bid must hold at or above $1.00 for at least 10 consecutive business days. Nasdaq staff may stretch that ten-day period at its discretion under Rule 5810(c)(3)(H).
Akebia shares closed at $0.57 at Friday's close, up 0.84% from the prior close.
A second window, then an appeal
If Akebia misses the first deadline, it may qualify for a further 180 calendar days. It would need to meet the market-value-of-publicly-held-shares requirement and every other initial listing standard for the Capital Market except the bid price. It would also have to tell Nasdaq in writing that it intends to cure the shortfall, with a reverse stock split if necessary.
If the company does not qualify, or still falls short after the second period, staff will send a delisting notice. Akebia could appeal to a Nasdaq Hearings Panel, though the filing warns there is no assurance an appeal would succeed.
A kidney-drug company at 57 cents
Akebia sells two products. Vafseo is an oral tablet for anemia caused by chronic kidney disease in adults on dialysis, and Auryxia is an oral medicine for controlling phosphorus in dialysis patients and treating iron deficiency anemia in adults with kidney disease not on dialysis. Per its 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, Vafseo is approved in 37 countries, and about 290,000 US dialysis patients have prescribing access to it.
The company says it will monitor its closing bid price and weigh options to regain compliance, which could include a reverse stock split. It also cautioned there is no assurance it will regain compliance or keep meeting other listing requirements.
The first deadline is April 19, 2027, and Akebia's chief executive, John P. Butler, signed the filing on Friday.
Sources
- 8-K Filing — Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (AKBA) — SEC EDGAR
