Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Trading 11.2% Higher – Should You Buy?

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) was up 11.2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $2.74 and last traded at $2.84. Approximately 1,677,125 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 2,995,445 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.55.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $7.50 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $4.00 to $6.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th.

Akebia Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $2.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $1.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $620.72 million, a PE ratio of -12.33 and a beta of 0.94.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $46.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.36 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Akebia Therapeutics news, SVP Steven Keith Burke sold 50,506 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total transaction of $106,062.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 816,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,714,091.40. The trade was a 5.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 30,202 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total transaction of $63,424.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 280,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $588,520.80. This trade represents a 9.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 280,579 shares of company stock worth $589,216. 4.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Akebia Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AKBA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,884,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $20,680,000 after acquiring an additional 813,902 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 40,631 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,823,527 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,265,000 after buying an additional 105,727 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 24.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,685,641 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,203,000 after purchasing an additional 50,542 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

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.