Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday.

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

Akebia Therapeutics Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of AKBA stock opened at $2.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $464.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.26 and a beta of 0.74. Akebia Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $0.80 and a 12-month high of $2.48. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $2.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.72.

Insider Activity

In other Akebia Therapeutics news, CEO John P. Butler sold 144,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total value of $302,925.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,604,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,469,093. This represents a 5.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 816,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,714,091.40. The trade was a 5.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Akebia Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. PDS Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Mariner LLC purchased a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new position in Akebia Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Akebia Therapeutics Company 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.