Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Downgraded to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Tuesday.

Separately, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $7.50 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

Akebia Therapeutics stock opened at $2.07 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $451.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.00 and a beta of 0.74. Akebia Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $0.80 and a fifty-two week high of $2.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $2.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1.72.

Insider Activity

In other Akebia Therapeutics news, SVP Steven Keith Burke sold 50,506 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total value of $106,062.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 816,234 shares in the company, valued at $1,714,091.40. This represents a 5.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John P. Butler sold 144,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total value of $302,925.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,604,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,469,093. This trade represents a 5.25 % decrease in their position. 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 insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AKBA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,884,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $20,680,000 after acquiring an additional 813,902 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position 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 worth $4,528,000 after purchasing an additional 683,287 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Akebia Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $534,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 363.0% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 294,343 shares during the period. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.