Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) Short Interest Down 19.7% in January

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 14,450,000 shares, a drop of 19.7% from the January 15th total of 17,990,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,260,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.4 days.

Insider Activity

In other Akebia Therapeutics news, SVP Steven Keith Burke sold 50,506 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was 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. The trade was a 5.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John P. Butler sold 144,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,604,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,469,093. This represents a 5.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 280,579 shares of company stock worth $589,216 over the last 90 days. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Effects LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Effects LLC now owns 32,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 98,618 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $187,000 after buying an additional 8,000 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 98,546 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 9,662 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 137,905 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 11,257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 126,380 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 12,232 shares during the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on AKBA shares. StockNews.com cut Akebia Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $7.50 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd.

Akebia Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ AKBA traded down $0.03 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $2.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 477,679 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,140,288. The stock has a market capitalization of $459.27 million, a PE ratio of -9.15 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $2.02 and a 200 day moving average of $1.72. Akebia Therapeutics has a one year low of $0.80 and a one year high of $2.48.

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.