Insider Selling: Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) CFO Sells $62,181.09 in Stock

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) CFO Erik Ostrowski sold 56,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.11, for a total value of $62,181.09. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 616,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $684,443.76. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AKBA opened at $1.24 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $332.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.50 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.40. Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $0.82 and a 1 year high of $4.08. The business has a fifty day moving average of $1.11 and a 200-day moving average of $1.31.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $53.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $51.67 million. Akebia Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 8.83% and a negative return on equity of 62.72%. Equities analysts predict that Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,547,508 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $42,445,000 after purchasing an additional 936,042 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,687,561 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $22,037,000 after purchasing an additional 1,842,792 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,277,177 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,108,000 after purchasing an additional 92,226 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 166.2% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,706,437 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,577,000 after purchasing an additional 2,938,624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 470.2% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,646,233 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,954,000 after purchasing an additional 3,006,771 shares during the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $4.00 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Zacks Research downgraded Akebia Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $6.00 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.67.

Akebia Therapeutics Company Profile

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is focused on the development and commercialization of therapies for patients with kidney disease. The company’s lead product candidate, vadadustat, is an investigational oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor designed to treat anemia associated with chronic kidney disease in both dialysis-dependent and non-dialysis patients. Akebia’s research and development efforts also extend to preclinical programs targeting nephrology and related metabolic disorders.

Since its founding in 2007, Akebia has pursued strategic collaborations to advance its clinical pipeline and expand its market reach.