Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Sets New 12-Month High - Here's Why

Shares of Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $4.08 and last traded at $3.96, with a volume of 764171 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $3.98.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $6.00 target price for the company. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, April 28th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $7.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partnrs raised Akebia Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Akebia Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 3rd. Finally, HC Wainwright began coverage on Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $8.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Akebia Therapeutics has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $6.75.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

The business's 50-day simple moving average is $3.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.46. The company has a quick ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. The firm has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.90 and a beta of 0.88.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.88 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Erik Ostrowski sold 41,314 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.67, for a total value of $151,622.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 503,586 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,848,160.62. This represents a 7.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 15,000 shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.01, for a total transaction of $60,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 266,914 shares in the company, valued at $1,070,325.14. This trade represents a 5.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 69,648 shares of company stock worth $258,841 in the last three months. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Akebia Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Akebia Therapeutics in the second quarter worth approximately $59,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 171.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,724,439 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $5,231,000 after purchasing an additional 1,722,245 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased 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 worth $542,000 after purchasing an additional 16,677 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $4,772,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 9.1% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 137,897 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 11,517 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.92% of the company's stock.

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.