Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Director G. Walmsley Graham Acquires 91,309 Shares

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Director G. Walmsley Graham bought 91,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $44.75 per share, with a total value of $4,086,077.75. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,091,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,836,077.75. This represents a 9.13 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

G. Walmsley Graham also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, March 27th, G. Walmsley Graham purchased 50,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of $43.55 per share, for a total transaction of $2,177,500.00.
• On Thursday, January 30th, G. Walmsley Graham acquired 200,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $48.00 per share, for a total transaction of $9,600,000.00.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Up 0.7 %

AKRO opened at $43.58 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a PE ratio of -11.62 and a beta of -0.19. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.86 and a 12 month high of $58.40. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $45.66 and a 200 day moving average of $34.90.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.99) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.98) by ($0.01). On average, sell-side analysts expect that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AKRO. HC Wainwright upped their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Sunday, March 2nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Akero Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $63.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.29.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AKRO. abrdn plc boosted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 118.7% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 269,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,505,000 after purchasing an additional 146,424 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 732.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 30,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $870,000 after buying an additional 26,691 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 540,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,042,000 after acquiring an additional 8,096 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $320,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 4,022.1% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 597,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,636,000 after acquiring an additional 583,486 shares during the last quarter.

About Akero Therapeutics

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.