Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $41.13.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AKRO. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jonathan Young sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.40, for a total transaction of $117,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 246,854 shares in the company, valued at $5,776,383.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 1,738 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.18, for a total transaction of $45,500.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 605,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,849,817.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Jonathan Young sold 5,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.40, for a total value of $117,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 246,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,776,383.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 288,542 shares of company stock valued at $7,832,030 in the last ninety days. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Akero Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 42.2% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,121,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $154,589,000 after buying an additional 1,815,569 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 10.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,060,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,569,000 after buying an additional 384,555 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 19.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,669,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,702,000 after acquiring an additional 584,875 shares during the period. RTW Investments LP bought a new stake in Akero Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $83,891,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings 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 worth $67,294,000 after acquiring an additional 2,053,028 shares during the period.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AKRO opened at $28.37 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 24.89 and a current ratio of 24.89. Akero Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $11.25 and a 52-week high of $51.24. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.86. The firm has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.87 and a beta of -0.26.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 9th. The company reported ($0.81) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by $0.09. As a group, research analysts forecast that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.