AIGH Capital Management LLC Acquires Shares of 2,925,000 Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA)

AIGH Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,925,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $5,616,000. Akebia Therapeutics comprises 2.3% of AIGH Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. AIGH Capital Management LLC owned about 1.12% of Akebia Therapeutics as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mariner LLC purchased a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Unified Investment Management increased its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 47.8% during the first quarter. Unified Investment Management now owns 17,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 5,500 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Akebia Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AKBA. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Akebia Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $6.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Akebia Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 3rd. HC Wainwright initiated coverage on Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $8.00 target price for the company. Finally, Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, April 28th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $7.00 target price 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $6.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 value of $60,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 266,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,070,325.14. This trade represents a 5.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Erik Ostrowski sold 41,314 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.67, for a total value of $151,622.38. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 503,586 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,848,160.62. The trade was a 7.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 69,648 shares of company stock valued at $258,841. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Akebia Therapeutics Trading Down 7.2%

Shares of AKBA traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $3.57. The company had a trading volume of 5,214,093 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,168,044. Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $1.07 and a 1-year high of $4.08. The stock has a market cap of $936.30 million, a PE ratio of -17.02 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2.58. The company has a quick ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $57.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.88 million. Research analysts forecast that Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Akebia Therapeutics 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.