Short Interest in Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) Drops By 34.3%

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 19,177,371 shares, a decrease of 34.3% from the June 15th total of 29,201,925 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,120,957 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days. Currently, 7.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Zacks Research upgraded Akebia Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $4.00 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Akebia Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.67.

Akebia Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AKBA opened at $1.34 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $359.47 million, a PE ratio of -16.75 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.33. Akebia Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $0.82 and a fifty-two week high of $4.04.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $53.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.67 million. Akebia Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 62.72% and a negative net margin of 8.83%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Akebia Therapeutics news, CFO Erik Ostrowski sold 56,019 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.11, for a total value of $62,181.09. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 616,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $684,443.76. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $62,000. Polymer Capital Management US LLC raised its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 49.5% during the 3rd quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC now owns 18,232 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 6,034 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 697.8% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 20,622 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 18,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 23.0% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,393 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Akebia Therapeutics Company Profile

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.