HC Wainwright Reiterates Buy Rating for Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO)

HC Wainwright reissued their buy rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $50.00 price target on the stock.

Separately, Citigroup started coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, November 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.83.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Up 7.6 %

NASDAQ:AKRO opened at $24.01 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.40 and a beta of -0.19. Akero Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $15.32 and a twelve month high of $37.00. The company has a current ratio of 17.25, a quick ratio of 17.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.97.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($1.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by ($0.15). Analysts anticipate that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.96 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akero Therapeutics

In related news, COO Jonathan Young sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.03, for a total transaction of $280,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 218,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,112,866.49. This represents a 4.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Catriona Yale sold 15,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.62, for a total transaction of $505,120.70. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,419,033.96. This trade represents a 17.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 262,135 shares of company stock valued at $8,223,000. 7.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Exome Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Akero Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $2,212,000. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 127.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 127,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,662,000 after purchasing an additional 71,652 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in Akero Therapeutics by 13.8% in the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 16,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $485,000 after buying an additional 2,049 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Akero Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at $308,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 54.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,896,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,554,000 after acquiring an additional 2,782,029 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.