Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. $AKBA Position Reduced by State Street Corp

Key Points

• State Street reduced its Akebia Therapeutics stake by 53.6% in the second quarter, selling 6.22 million shares and retaining 5.39 million shares worth approximately $6.15 million. Institutional investors collectively own 33.92% of AKBA.
• Akebia reported second-quarter revenue of $49.13 million and an adjusted loss of $0.02 per share, beating analysts’ estimates. The company’s lead product, Vafseo, is approved in the U.S. for anemia associated with chronic kidney disease in adults on dialysis.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $3.90, compared with shares opening at $0.90. The stock has traded between $0.81 and $3.20 over the past year.

State Street Corp cut its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA - Free Report) by 53.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,390,853 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 6,223,153 shares during the period. State Street Corp owned approximately 1.95% of Akebia Therapeutics worth $6,146,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 60.3% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 77,992 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 29,334 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC bought a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Nantahala Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,280,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $336,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the second quarter worth approximately $523,000. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Erik Ostrowski sold 56,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.11, for a total transaction of $62,181.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 616,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $684,443.76. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of AKBA opened at $0.90 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $248.35 million, a P/E ratio of -8.15 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.35. Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $0.81 and a one year high of $3.20. The business has a fifty day moving average of $1.02 and a 200 day moving average of $1.16.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.02. Akebia Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 88.88% and a negative net margin of 13.54%.The business had revenue of $49.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.85 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.14 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Westpark Capital began coverage on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $4.50 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 12th. Leerink Partners cut shares of Akebia Therapeutics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $1.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $4.00 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Akebia Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $3.90.

Akebia Therapeutics Profile

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing treatments for patients with kidney disease and related conditions. The company's research and commercial activities center on therapies intended to address anemia associated with chronic kidney disease, iron deficiency, and other complications affecting people with impaired kidney function.

Akebia's lead product is Vafseo (vadadustat), an oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor approved in the United States for the treatment of anemia due to chronic kidney disease in adults on dialysis.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.