Federated Hermes Inc. Acquires 45,982 Shares of Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA)

Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 914,003 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 45,982 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 0.42% of Akebia Therapeutics worth $1,737,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 122,397 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 23,099 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,795,095 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,112,000 after buying an additional 40,631 shares during the period. Diametric Capital LP bought a new position in Akebia Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $167,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 502,127 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $954,000 after buying an additional 97,409 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 363.0% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 456,294 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $867,000 after acquiring an additional 357,748 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Akebia Therapeutics

In related news, CEO John P. Butler sold 144,250 shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total value of $302,925.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,604,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,469,093. This trade represents a 5.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Steven Keith Burke sold 50,506 shares of the company’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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 816,234 shares in the company, valued at $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 90 days, insiders have sold 280,579 shares of company stock worth $589,216. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $7.50 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com raised Akebia Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $6.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $4.00 to $6.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th.

Akebia Therapeutics Trading Up 6.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AKBA opened at $1.65 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1.87. Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $0.80 and a 12-month high of $2.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $389.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.17 and a beta of 0.87.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $46.50 million during 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 EPS for the current year.

Akebia Therapeutics 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.