Short Interest in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Drops By 9.1%

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,290,000 shares, a decline of 9.1% from the November 15th total of 3,620,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 570,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.8 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akero Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 108,366 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.73, for a total value of $3,438,453.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 605,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,209,881.41. This trade represents a 15.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Catriona Yale sold 3,871 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.56, for a total transaction of $106,684.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 75,294 shares in the company, valued at $2,075,102.64. This represents a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 396,099 shares of company stock valued at $12,361,885 in the last three months. Company insiders own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Exome Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at about $2,212,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 127.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 127,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,662,000 after buying an additional 71,652 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 13.8% in the third 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 in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Akero Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $308,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,782,029 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on AKRO. Citigroup began coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, November 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, November 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Akero Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.83.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Akero Therapeutics stock opened at $28.89 on Monday. Akero Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $15.32 and a 1-year high of $37.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 17.25 and a quick ratio of 17.25. The stock has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.70 and a beta of -0.23. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.19.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($1.05) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by ($0.15). Analysts predict that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.