Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

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

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

AKBA opened at $2.10 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.69. Akebia Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $0.80 and a 1 year high of $2.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $458.18 million, a PE ratio of -9.13 and a beta of 0.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akebia Therapeutics

In other news, SVP Steven Keith Burke sold 50,506 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 816,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,714,091.40. This represents a 5.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Nicholas Grund sold 55,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total transaction of $116,804.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 442,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $929,415.90. This trade represents a 11.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 280,579 shares of company stock valued at $589,216 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Akebia Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 8.1% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 162.3% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 118,209 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 73,143 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $85,000. 33.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.