Insider Selling: Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) COO Sells $27,242.16 in Stock

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) COO Jonathan Young sold 607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total transaction of $27,242.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 200,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,000,235.20. This trade represents a 0.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Jonathan Young also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, March 4th, Jonathan Young sold 50,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.86, for a total value of $2,243,000.00.
• On Monday, February 3rd, Jonathan Young sold 10,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.81, for a total value of $538,100.00.
• On Thursday, January 2nd, Jonathan Young sold 10,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.03, for a total value of $280,300.00.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Down 1.6 %

AKRO stock opened at $44.15 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $42.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.89. The company has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.77 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 quick ratio of 17.25, a current ratio of 17.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.99) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.98) by ($0.01). On average, equities analysts anticipate that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on AKRO. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup upped their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.29.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Akero Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $211,000. Simplify Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 283,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,141,000 after purchasing an additional 38,279 shares in the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP increased its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 17.0% during the third quarter. LMR Partners LLP now owns 20,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 2,997 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Akero Therapeutics in the third quarter worth $491,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC boosted its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 8.3% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 68,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,952,000 after buying an additional 5,191 shares in the last quarter.

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.