Short Interest in Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) Drops By 15.5%

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 31,207,330 shares, a drop of 15.5% from the January 29th total of 36,927,875 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,396,546 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.1 days. Currently, 12.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Currently, 12.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,396,546 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.1 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AKBA. Wall Street Zen downgraded Akebia Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. BTIG Research decreased their price target on Akebia Therapeutics from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Zacks Research downgraded Akebia Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $6.00 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $6.00 to $4.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Akebia Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5.40.

Akebia Therapeutics Price Performance

Akebia Therapeutics stock opened at $1.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $326.81 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -60.97 and a beta of 0.39. Akebia Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $1.14 and a 52-week high of $4.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $1.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2.06.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $57.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.37 million. Akebia Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 2.26% and a negative return on equity of 16.70%. On average, equities analysts predict that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Akebia Therapeutics news, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 49,524 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.39, for a total value of $68,838.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 299,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $416,152.10. This represents a 14.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Akebia Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AKBA. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 23.0% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,393 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 13.1% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 176,961 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 20,499 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 9.1% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 137,897 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 11,517 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 171.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,724,439 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,231,000 after purchasing an additional 1,722,245 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth $112,000. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Akebia Therapeutics Company Profile

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.