Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 813,902 Shares of Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA - Free Report) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,884,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 813,902 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 4.99% of Akebia Therapeutics worth $20,680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 276.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 273,085 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 200,482 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $534,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 205.8% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 46,270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 31,137 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Akebia Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth $58,000. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,430,527 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,528,000 after acquiring an additional 683,287 shares during the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on AKBA shares. StockNews.com raised Akebia Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $7.50 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $4.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $6.00 price objective for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 30,202 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total value of $63,424.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 280,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $588,520.80. The trade was a 9.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Steven Keith Burke sold 50,506 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 $106,062.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 816,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,714,091.40. This trade represents a 5.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 280,579 shares of company stock valued at $589,216 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Akebia Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AKBA traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $2.06. The stock had a trading volume of 4,574,650 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,790,432. The company has a market cap of $486.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.96 and a beta of 0.87. Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $0.80 and a twelve month high of $2.89. The business's fifty day moving average is $1.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.89.

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

Akebia Therapeutics 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.