Rafferty Asset Management LLC Takes $342,000 Position in Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 179,752 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $342,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned 0.08% of Akebia Therapeutics as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AKBA. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Akebia Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. PDS Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Mariner LLC bought a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors own 33.92% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AKBA has been the subject of several recent research reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $7.50 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Friday, April 4th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $6.00 target price for the company. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $7.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $4.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Akebia Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Akebia Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $6.63.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of AKBA stock traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $2.92. 3,960,064 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,913,195. Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $0.80 and a 12 month high of $2.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $2.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $766.90 million, a PE ratio of -12.70 and a beta of 0.88.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, topping 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. As a group, equities analysts expect that Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.3 earnings per share 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.