Vickers Philip J. 4

What Happened

• Philip J. Vickers, a director of Akebia Therapeutics (AKBA), received a grant of a stock option covering 214,400 shares on 2026-04-01. The grant is reported as a derivative award (transaction code A) with an acquisition price of $0.00, indicating an option/award rather than an open-market purchase of common stock.
• The award was made under Akebia’s 2023 Plan and the Fifth Amended and Restated Non-Employee Director Compensation Program. The filing was submitted 2026-04-03 and appears to meet the Form 4 two-business-day filing requirement.

Key Details

• Transaction date: 2026-04-01; Filing date: 2026-04-03.
• Securities: Option covering 214,400 shares; reported price $0.00 (derivative award).
• Vesting: 33 1/3% vests on the first anniversary of the grant; remaining 66 2/3% vests ratably each calendar quarter thereafter over the following two years (three-year total vesting).
• Shares owned after transaction: Not specified in the filing.
• Transaction code: A = Award/Grant (derivative). No 10b5-1 plan, tax-withholding, or late-filing flags noted in the filing.

Context

• This is a standard director compensation option grant, not an immediate stock purchase. Vickers must typically wait for options to vest and then exercise them to obtain shares; until exercised the options do not represent common stock ownership.
• Such grants are common for non-employee directors and are intended to align long-term interests with shareholders; they do not by themselves signal an immediate bullish or bearish trade.