Renaissance Technologies LLC Boosts Position in Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA)

Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,823,527 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 105,727 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Akebia Therapeutics were worth $7,265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AKBA. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. PDS Planning Inc acquired a new position in Akebia Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Wealth Effects LLC grew its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 18.5% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $73,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Akebia Therapeutics news, SVP Steven Keith Burke sold 50,506 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total transaction of $106,062.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 816,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,714,091.40. The trade was a 5.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 30,202 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total transaction 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 $588,520.80. This represents a 9.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 280,579 shares of company stock valued at $589,216 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Akebia Therapeutics Trading Up 8.4 %

Akebia Therapeutics stock opened at $2.06 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $486.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.96 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1.88. Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $0.80 and a twelve month high of $2.89.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $46.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.36 million. Equities analysts predict that Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AKBA. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $6.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $4.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $7.50 price target on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th.

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.