Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday.

Separately, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $7.50 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ AKBA opened at $1.85 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $2.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $403.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.04 and a beta of 0.74. Akebia Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $0.80 and a 52 week high of $2.48.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Steven Keith Burke sold 50,506 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total transaction of $106,062.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 816,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,714,091.40. The trade was a 5.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John P. Butler sold 144,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total transaction of $302,925.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,604,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,469,093. This trade represents a 5.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 280,579 shares of company stock valued at $589,216. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Akebia Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,884,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $20,680,000 after acquiring an additional 813,902 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,795,095 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,112,000 after acquiring an additional 40,631 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,823,527 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,265,000 after acquiring an additional 105,727 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 24.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,430,527 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,528,000 after acquiring an additional 683,287 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,685,641 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,203,000 after acquiring an additional 50,542 shares during the period. 33.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.