MetLife Investment Management LLC Buys 14,134 Shares of Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. $AKBA

MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) by 13.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 118,164 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,134 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Akebia Therapeutics were worth $227,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Unified Investment Management raised its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 47.8% in the first quarter. Unified Investment Management now owns 17,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 5,500 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 51.9% in the first quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 19,311 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 6,595 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 207.2% in the 1st quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 38,400 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 25,900 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $85,000. Finally, PDS Planning Inc raised its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 200.0% during the 1st quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 45,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 30,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

Akebia Therapeutics Price Performance

AKBA stock opened at $3.00 on Wednesday. Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $1.24 and a one year high of $4.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market cap of $795.42 million, a PE ratio of -17.65 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.85.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Erik Ostrowski sold 41,314 shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.67, for a total transaction of $151,622.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 503,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,848,160.62. The trade was a 7.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AKBA shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, HC Wainwright began coverage on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $8.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $6.75.

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.