Andrew Cheng Sells 30,000 Shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Stock

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.73, for a total value of $1,581,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 686,062 shares in the company, valued at $36,176,049.26. This represents a 4.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Andrew Cheng also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, January 27th, Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.90, for a total value of $1,647,000.00.
• On Tuesday, December 10th, Andrew Cheng sold 7,855 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.79, for a total transaction of $241,855.45.
• On Monday, December 2nd, Andrew Cheng sold 25,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.09, for a total value of $802,250.00.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of AKRO opened at $49.44 on Thursday. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.86 and a 1 year high of $58.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a PE ratio of -13.18 and a beta of -0.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 17.25 and a current ratio of 17.25. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.39.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AKRO. Simplify Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 283,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,141,000 after purchasing an additional 38,279 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc raised its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 118.7% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 269,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,505,000 after buying an additional 146,424 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 732.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 30,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $870,000 after buying an additional 26,691 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 4,022.1% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 597,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,636,000 after acquiring an additional 583,486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 127.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 127,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,662,000 after acquiring an additional 71,652 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AKRO shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $50.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $46.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Akero Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.86.

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.