Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) Short Interest Up 18.6% in December

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 16,680,000 shares, an increase of 18.6% from the December 15th total of 14,070,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,100,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.9 days.

Akebia Therapeutics Trading Up 7.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AKBA traded up $0.14 on Friday, hitting $2.07. 6,512,128 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,701,380. Akebia Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $0.80 and a 1-year high of $2.48. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $1.91 and its 200 day moving average is $1.58.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $37.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.66 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.08) earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 40.7% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 31,221 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 9,037 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 10.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 98,546 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 9,662 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 25.7% during the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 68,064 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 13,907 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 205.8% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 46,270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 31,137 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AKBA. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $7.50 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday.

Akebia Therapeutics Company 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.