Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) Shares Bought by Millennium Management LLC

Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA - Free Report) by 738.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 169,647 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 149,402 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned 0.08% of Akebia Therapeutics worth $322,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 265,389 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 22,513 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 497,547 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $945,000 after acquiring an additional 27,839 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 586,710 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,115,000 after purchasing an additional 18,043 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $85,000. 33.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Akebia Therapeutics Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of AKBA stock traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $3.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,869,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,162,855. The business has a fifty day moving average of $2.55 and a 200-day moving average of $2.19. Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $0.80 and a twelve month high of $4.08. The stock has a market cap of $963.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.96 and a beta of 0.85.

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, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.06. The company had revenue of $57.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.88 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Akebia Therapeutics news, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 15,000 shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.01, for a total value of $60,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 266,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,070,325.14. The trade was a 5.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

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.