Insider Buying: Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Director Buys $4,086,077.75 in Stock

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Director G. Walmsley Graham acquired 91,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 in the company, valued at approximately $48,836,077.75. The trade was a 9.13 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

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

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

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

AKRO stock opened at $42.72 on Friday. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.86 and a 1-year high of $58.40. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $46.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.08. The firm has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of -11.39 and a beta of -0.19. The company has a current ratio of 17.25, a quick ratio of 17.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.99) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.98) by ($0.01). As a group, research analysts forecast that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AKRO. Bank of America raised shares of Akero Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Sunday, March 2nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their price target on Akero Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $76.29.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in Akero Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 764.3% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $83,000. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $197,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $211,000.

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.