Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Shares Down 6.4% – What’s Next?

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) shares fell 6.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $27.50 and last traded at $27.85. 65,103 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 862,579 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.76.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Akero Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.20.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a PE ratio of -7.43 and a beta of -0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 17.25 and a quick ratio of 24.89. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $29.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.53.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($1.05) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.90) by ($0.15). Sell-side analysts expect that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Akero Therapeutics news, insider Catriona Yale sold 8,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.53, for a total transaction of $243,668.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 75,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,090,380.43. The trade was a 10.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 108,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.73, for a total value of $3,438,453.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 605,417 shares in the company, valued at $19,209,881.41. This trade represents a 15.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 428,397 shares of company stock worth $12,997,971 in the last three months. 7.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AKRO. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,077,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,053,000 after acquiring an additional 201,225 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,060,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,569,000 after purchasing an additional 384,555 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 19.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,669,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,702,000 after purchasing an additional 584,875 shares during the period. Baker BROS. Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 14.6% in the first quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 2,713,205 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,536,000 after purchasing an additional 344,827 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Redmile Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 67.5% in the first quarter. Redmile Group LLC now owns 1,858,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,951,000 after buying an additional 749,226 shares during the period.

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.