Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Shares Up 5.5%

Shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) traded up 5.5% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $20.77 and last traded at $20.74. 65,585 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 94% from the average session volume of 1,191,632 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.66.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AKRO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. HC Wainwright increased their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a report on Monday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Akero Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.71.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Down 4.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 29.27, a quick ratio of 29.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.14. The stock has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.38 and a beta of -0.29.

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

Insider Activity at Akero Therapeutics

In other Akero Therapeutics news, COO Jonathan Young sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.15, for a total transaction of $100,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 258,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,204,865.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Jonathan Young sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.15, for a total transaction of $100,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 258,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,204,865.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 75,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.87, for a total transaction of $2,465,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 591,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,439,843.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 105,646 shares of company stock worth $3,420,627. Corporate insiders own 9.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AKRO. RTW Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $83,891,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 247.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,881,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,294,000 after purchasing an additional 2,053,028 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 154.4% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 779,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,409,000 after buying an additional 472,898 shares during the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 3,100.2% in the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 441,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,310,000 after buying an additional 427,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 225.0% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 500,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,302,000 after buying an additional 346,317 shares during the last quarter.

Akero Therapeutics Company 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.