Insider Selling: Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) COO Sells 10,000 Shares of Stock

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) COO Jonathan Young sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.81, for a total transaction of $538,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 251,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,514,220.07. The trade was a 3.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

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

• On Thursday, January 2nd, Jonathan Young sold 10,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.03, for a total transaction of $280,300.00.
• On Tuesday, December 10th, Jonathan Young sold 2,503 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.79, for a total value of $77,067.37.
• On Monday, December 2nd, Jonathan Young sold 10,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.13, for a total value of $321,300.00.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of AKRO traded up $0.80 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $57.21. The stock had a trading volume of 157,749 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,974,885. The business has a fifty day moving average of $31.64 and a 200 day moving average of $29.48. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.26 and a beta of -0.11. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $15.32 and a 12 month high of $58.40.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($1.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by ($0.15). Equities analysts predict that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AKRO. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 54.4% during the third 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. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,077,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,053,000 after purchasing an additional 201,225 shares in the last quarter. RTW Investments LP grew its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 5,919,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,829,000 after purchasing an additional 487,450 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,392,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 4,022.1% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 597,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,636,000 after purchasing an additional 583,486 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America upgraded Akero Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $63.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. HC Wainwright raised their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $50.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $46.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $75.86.

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.