Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Shares Purchased by E Fund Management Co. Ltd.

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) by 156.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 24,172 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,744 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Akero Therapeutics were worth $564,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Akero Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Akero Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Strs Ohio increased its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 352.2% in the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,449 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 5,023 shares during the period. Finally, Amalgamated Bank boosted its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 18.2% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 7,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 1,166 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AKRO. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a report on Monday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.71.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Down 4.5 %

Shares of AKRO stock traded down $1.00 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $21.02. 581,020 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,186,817. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.25 and a 12-month high of $58.38. The business’s fifty day moving average is $24.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 29.27 and a quick ratio of 29.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.38 and a beta of -0.29.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported ($0.99) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.82) by ($0.17). As a group, research analysts expect that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akero Therapeutics

In other Akero Therapeutics news, COO Jonathan Young sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.38, for a total value of $121,900.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 263,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,419,400.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Catriona Yale sold 20,646 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.49, for a total value of $732,726.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 78,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,782,948.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Jonathan Young sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.38, for a total transaction of $121,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 263,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,419,400.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 105,646 shares of company stock valued at $3,420,627. Insiders own 9.69% of the company’s stock.

Akero Therapeutics Profile

Akero Therapeutics, Inc, together with its subsidiary, engages in the development of treatments for patients with serious metabolic diseases in the United States. The company's lead product candidate is efruxifermin (EFX), which is in Phase 3 clinical trials that protects against cellular stress and regulates the metabolism of lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins throughout the body for the treatment of biopsy-confirmed metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) patients.