Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

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

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

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ AKBA opened at $1.80 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $2.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.75. The company has a market cap of $392.72 million, a PE ratio of -7.83 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 related news, SVP Steven Keith Burke sold 50,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total value of $106,062.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 816,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,714,091.40. This trade represents a 5.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 30,202 shares of the firm’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 $63,424.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 280,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $588,520.80. The trade was a 9.73 % 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 valued at $589,216. 4.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 276.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 273,085 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 200,482 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $534,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 205.8% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 46,270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 31,137 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

About Akebia Therapeutics

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.