Insider Buying: Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) CEO Purchases 69,270 Shares of Stock

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) CEO John Butler acquired 69,270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $1.25 per share, for a total transaction of $86,587.50. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 3,367,064 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,208,830. The trade was a 2.10% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Down 4.8%

AKBA stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Thursday, hitting $1.19. 2,837,359 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,413,229. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $1.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $318.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -59.47 and a beta of 0.39. Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $1.14 and a 52-week high of $4.08.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AKBA. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in Akebia Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Unified Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Polymer Capital Management US LLC lifted its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 49.5% during the third quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC now owns 18,232 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 6,034 shares during the period. 33.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AKBA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Akebia Therapeutics from $6.00 to $4.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. BTIG Research cut their target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Zacks Research cut Akebia Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Akebia Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Akebia Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5.40.

About Akebia Therapeutics

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.