Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Rating Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning.

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

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AKBA opened at $1.91 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $2.02 and its 200 day moving average is $1.73. The firm has a market cap of $415.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.28 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 Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AKBA. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 276.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 273,085 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 200,482 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics in the third quarter worth $534,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 205.8% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 46,270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 31,137 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the third quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,430,527 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,528,000 after acquiring an additional 683,287 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.