Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s Why

Shares of Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 3,814,741 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 23% from the previous session’s volume of 3,113,107 shares.The stock last traded at $3.83 and had previously closed at $3.83.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AKBA has been the subject of several analyst reports. HC Wainwright began coverage on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $8.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $4.00 to $6.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $6.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partners began coverage on Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $7.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised Akebia Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Akebia Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $6.75.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $937.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.52 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.19.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.06. The company had revenue of $57.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.88 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 13,334 shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.53, for a total value of $47,069.02. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 266,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $942,206.42. The trade was a 4.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Akebia Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 282,066 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $542,000 after acquiring an additional 16,677 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the first quarter worth $4,772,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 171.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,724,439 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,231,000 after purchasing an additional 1,722,245 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 137,897 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 11,517 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 28.5% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,579,355 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,032,000 after purchasing an additional 350,645 shares in the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by 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.