Nordea Investment Management AB Takes Position in Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. $AKBA

Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 752,106 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,215,000. Nordea Investment Management AB owned 0.28% of Akebia Therapeutics as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 470.2% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,646,233 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,954,000 after buying an additional 3,006,771 shares during the last quarter. MPM Bioimpact LLC acquired a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $10,516,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 528.1% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,400,757 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,554,000 after acquiring an additional 2,018,547 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 1,324.7% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,916,692 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,233,000 after acquiring an additional 1,782,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 171.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,724,439 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,231,000 after acquiring an additional 1,722,245 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 49,524 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.39, for a total transaction of $68,838.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 299,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $416,152.10. This represents a 14.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John P. Butler acquired 69,270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1.25 per share, with a total value of $86,587.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 3,367,064 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,208,830. This represents a 2.10% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Down 3.6%

Akebia Therapeutics stock opened at $1.34 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $358.96 million, a PE ratio of -66.97 and a beta of 0.39. Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $1.14 and a twelve month high of $4.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1.36 and a 200-day moving average of $1.85.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $57.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.37 million. Akebia Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 16.70% and a negative net margin of 2.26%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $6.00 to $4.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, BTIG Research lowered their price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5.40.

About Akebia Therapeutics

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is focused on the development and commercialization of therapies for patients with kidney disease. The company’s lead product candidate, vadadustat, is an investigational oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor designed to treat anemia associated with chronic kidney disease in both dialysis-dependent and non-dialysis patients. Akebia’s research and development efforts also extend to preclinical programs targeting nephrology and related metabolic disorders.

Since its founding in 2007, Akebia has pursued strategic collaborations to advance its clinical pipeline and expand its market reach.