Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Shares Up 11.2% - Here's What Happened

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 11.2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $2.74 and last traded at $2.84. Approximately 1,677,125 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 2,995,445 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AKBA has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Akebia Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $7.50 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of 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's 50-day moving average is $2.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.82. The company has a market capitalization of $503.17 million, a PE ratio of -9.26 and a beta of 0.94.

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

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other Akebia Therapeutics news, SVP Steven Keith Burke sold 50,506 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 $106,062.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 30,202 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold 280,579 shares of company stock worth $589,216 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AKBA. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Mariner LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. PDS Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in Akebia Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Akebia Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.