Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 14,450,000 shares, a decrease of 19.7% from the January 15th total of 17,990,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,260,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $7.50 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd.

Akebia Therapeutics Trading Down 0.5 %

Akebia Therapeutics stock opened at $2.13 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $464.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.26 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $2.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.70. Akebia Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $0.80 and a 1-year high of $2.48.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akebia Therapeutics

In other Akebia Therapeutics news, CEO John P. Butler sold 144,250 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 value of $302,925.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,604,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,469,093. The trade was a 5.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 280,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $588,520.80. This trade represents 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 currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,884,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $20,680,000 after purchasing an additional 813,902 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 worth $9,112,000 after buying an additional 40,631 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,823,527 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,265,000 after buying an additional 105,727 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted 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 valued at $4,528,000 after acquiring an additional 683,287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,685,641 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,203,000 after acquiring an additional 50,542 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.