Akebia Therapeutics Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:AKBA)

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Traders acquired 3,386 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 303% compared to the typical volume of 841 call options.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Up 6.3 %

Shares of AKBA traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $2.55. 4,972,795 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,024,010. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1.79. Akebia Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $0.80 and a fifty-two week high of $2.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $556.36 million, a PE ratio of -11.09 and a beta of 0.94.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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. Research analysts predict that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AKBA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $7.50 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded Akebia Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Akebia Therapeutics from $4.00 to $6.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday.

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Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John P. Butler sold 144,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total transaction of $302,925.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,604,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,469,093. This trade represents a 5.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 30,202 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 280,579 shares of company stock valued at $589,216. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Akebia Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AKBA. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,884,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $20,680,000 after buying an additional 813,902 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,430,527 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,528,000 after buying an additional 683,287 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $534,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 363.0% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 456,294 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $867,000 after purchasing an additional 357,748 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 117.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 543,916 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,033,000 after purchasing an additional 294,343 shares during the period. 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.