Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) CFO Erik Ostrowski Sells 56,019 Shares

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) CFO Erik Ostrowski sold 56,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.11, for a total transaction of $62,181.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 616,616 shares in the company, valued at $684,443.76. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of AKBA traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $1.21. 6,042,179 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,968,712. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $1.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $324.59 million, a P/E ratio of -15.12 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.40. Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $0.82 and a 12 month high of $4.08.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.02). Akebia Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 62.72% and a negative net margin of 8.83%.The business had revenue of $53.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $51.67 million. Equities analysts predict that Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AKBA. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 price target on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $4.00 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $4.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,393 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 26.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 23,279 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 4,798 shares during the period. Polymer Capital Management US LLC boosted its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 49.5% during the third quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC now owns 18,232 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 6,034 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 164,655 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 8,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 16.8% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 59,502 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $217,000 after acquiring an additional 8,568 shares during the period. 33.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Akebia Therapeutics

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is focused on the development and commercialization of therapies for patients with kidney disease. The company’s lead product candidate, vadadustat, is an investigational oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor designed to treat anemia associated with chronic kidney disease in both dialysis-dependent and non-dialysis patients. Akebia’s research and development efforts also extend to preclinical programs targeting nephrology and related metabolic disorders.

Since its founding in 2007, Akebia has pursued strategic collaborations to advance its clinical pipeline and expand its market reach.