Richard C. Malabre Sells 30,202 Shares of Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) Stock

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 30,202 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total value of $63,424.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 280,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $588,520.80. The trade was a 9.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ:AKBA opened at $2.17 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $473.45 million, a PE ratio of -9.43 and a beta of 0.74. Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $0.80 and a 52 week high of $2.48. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $2.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.67.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $37.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.66 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.08) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Akebia Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Akebia Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AKBA has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $7.50 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd.

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.