Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Earns “Buy” Rating from HC Wainwright

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by research analysts at HC Wainwright in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $50.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 54.42% from the stock’s previous close.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:AKRO opened at $32.38 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 24.89 and a quick ratio of 24.89. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $29.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.37. Akero Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $13.47 and a 1-year high of $37.00. The firm has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.81 and a beta of -0.26.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($1.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.90) by ($0.15). Equities research analysts forecast that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.64 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Akero Therapeutics news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 1,738 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.18, for a total transaction of $45,500.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 605,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,849,817.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Akero Therapeutics news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 1,738 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 605,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,849,817.06. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO William Richard White sold 75,159 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total value of $2,045,076.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 41,791 shares in the company, valued at $1,137,133.11. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 428,397 shares of company stock valued at $12,997,971. 7.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AKRO. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 2,366.0% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $100,000. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 253.5% in the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 4,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 3,024 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. grew its position in Akero Therapeutics by 20.0% in the first quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 6,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 1,030 shares during the period.

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.