1,500,000 Shares in Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. $AKBA Purchased by Affinity Asset Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Affinity Asset Advisors LLC has purchased **1,500,000 shares** of Akebia Therapeutics, valued at approximately **$2.88 million**, increasing their ownership to **0.57%** of the company.
• Akebia Therapeutics saw its stock price **drop by 5.0%** recently, with current trading at **$3.03** and a market cap of **$803.37 million**.
• Multiple institutions have **shifted their stakes**, with New York State Common Retirement Fund boosting its position by **207.2%**, now owning **38,400 shares** valued at **$74,000**.

Affinity Asset Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,500,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $2,880,000. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.57% of Akebia Therapeutics at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mariner LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Unified Investment Management boosted its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 47.8% in the 1st quarter. Unified Investment Management now owns 17,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 5,500 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 51.9% in the 1st quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 19,311 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 6,595 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 207.2% in the 1st quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 38,400 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 25,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.92% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akebia Therapeutics

In other Akebia Therapeutics news, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.01, for a total transaction of $60,150.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 266,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,070,325.14. The trade was a 5.32% 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, CFO Erik Ostrowski sold 41,314 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.67, for a total transaction of $151,622.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 503,586 shares in the company, valued at $1,848,160.62. This represents a 7.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 69,648 shares of company stock worth $258,841 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Akebia Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AKBA traded up $0.12 during trading on Thursday, hitting $3.13. 3,100,614 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,262,060. The company has a market cap of $829.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.41 and a beta of 0.96. Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $1.24 and a 1 year high of $4.08. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $3.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.84.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AKBA. HC Wainwright began coverage on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $8.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Akebia Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $6.75.

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.