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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Monday.

Separately, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $7.50 price target on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, January 23rd.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ AKBA traded down $0.02 during trading on Monday, reaching $2.13. 1,197,467 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,193,358. The stock has a market cap of $463.63 million, a P/E ratio of -9.24 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $2.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1.70. Akebia Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $0.80 and a 1 year high of $2.48.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Akebia Therapeutics news, SVP Steven Keith Burke sold 50,506 shares of the firm'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 $106,062.60. Following the transaction, 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 30,202 shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total transaction of $63,424.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 280,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $588,520.80. This represents a 9.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 280,579 shares of company stock worth $589,216 in the last quarter. 4.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AKBA. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 117.1% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 71,965 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 38,821 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $104,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.92% of the company's stock.

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.