Short Interest in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Decreases By 19.1%

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,820,000 shares, a decrease of 19.1% from the October 15th total of 4,720,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 512,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.20.

Insider Activity at Akero Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 108,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.73, for a total value of $3,438,453.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 605,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,209,881.41. The trade was a 15.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Catriona Yale sold 8,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.53, for a total transaction of $243,668.03. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 75,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,090,380.43. This trade represents a 10.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 428,397 shares of company stock valued at $12,997,971. Insiders own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 127.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 127,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,662,000 after buying an additional 71,652 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 16,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 2,049 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in Akero Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $308,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 54.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,896,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,554,000 after purchasing an additional 2,782,029 shares during the period. Finally, RTW Investments LP grew its position in Akero Therapeutics by 9.0% in 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 last quarter.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Down 5.6 %

NASDAQ AKRO opened at $28.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 24.89 and a current ratio of 17.25. Akero Therapeutics has a one year low of $13.86 and a one year high of $37.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of -7.49 and a beta of -0.26.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($1.05) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.90) by ($0.15). On average, equities analysts forecast that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.94 earnings per share for the current year.

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.