Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) Short Interest Down 20.8% in April

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA – Get Rating) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 4,500,000 shares, a decline of 20.8% from the April 15th total of 5,680,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,880,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AKBA. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $1.25 to $2.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 26th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, March 17th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of AKBA stock opened at $1.13 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $210.10 million, a P/E ratio of -2.17 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $0.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $0.61. Akebia Therapeutics has a one year low of $0.24 and a one year high of $1.20.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 9th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by $0.10. The company had revenue of $55.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.35 million. Akebia Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 31.63% and a negative return on equity of 279.65%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.43 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John P. Butler sold 91,868 shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.88, for a total transaction of $80,843.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,568,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,380,607.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last three months, insiders sold 132,524 shares of company stock valued at $116,621. Insiders own 3.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AKBA. Alerce Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 224.3% in the 4th quarter. Alerce Investment Management L.P. now owns 15,090,119 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,707,000 after buying an additional 10,437,558 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 65.8% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 5,354,175 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 2,124,161 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 103.5% in the 3rd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,016,427 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $954,000 after purchasing an additional 1,534,127 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 162.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,042,816 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $646,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,402,988 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167,319 shares in the last quarter. 28.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Akebia Therapeutics Company Profile

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Akebia Therapeutics, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company, which engages in the development and commercialization of therapeutics for patients with kidney diseases. The firm is also involved in the development and commercialization of drugs for the treatment of renal and metabolic disorders. Its products include Auryxia and Vadadustat.