Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Sets New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $2.50 and last traded at $2.47, with a volume of 2161320 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $2.40.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AKBA shares. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $7.50 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on 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 4.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $464.73 million, a PE ratio of -9.26 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $2.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $1.81.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.05) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $46.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.36 million. Equities analysts expect that Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current year.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Akebia Therapeutics

In related news, SVP Steven Keith Burke sold 50,506 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total transaction of $106,062.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 816,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,714,091.40. This trade represents a 5.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total value of $63,424.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 280,248 shares of the company's stock, valued at $588,520.80. The trade was a 9.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In 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.

Institutional Trading of Akebia Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AKBA. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. PDS Planning Inc acquired a new position in Akebia Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Mariner LLC acquired a new position in Akebia Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in Akebia Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Akebia Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. 33.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Akebia Therapeutics

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.