Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) CEO John P. Butler Sells 144,250 Shares

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) CEO John P. Butler sold 144,250 shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total transaction of $302,925.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,604,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,469,093. The trade was a 5.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Akebia Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of AKBA stock traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $2.14. The company had a trading volume of 1,343,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,507,634. Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $0.80 and a fifty-two week high of $2.48. The company’s fifty day moving average is $2.00 and its 200 day moving average is $1.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $466.91 million, a PE ratio of -9.30 and a beta of 0.74.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $37.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.66 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.08) EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AKBA shares. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $7.50 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Akebia Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 497,547 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 27,839 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 265,389 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 22,513 shares during the period. Wealth Effects LLC grew its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Effects LLC now owns 32,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $73,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 62.3% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 116,771 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 44,806 shares in the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.