HC Wainwright Reiterates “Buy” Rating for Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by investment analysts at HC Wainwright in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $50.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 98.89% from the company’s current price.

Separately, Citigroup initiated coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a report on Monday, November 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Akero Therapeutics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.83.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of AKRO opened at $25.14 on Thursday. Akero Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $15.32 and a 52-week high of $37.00. The company has a quick ratio of 17.25, a current ratio of 17.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.70 and a beta of -0.19. The business’s 50 day moving average is $29.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.94.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Analysts forecast that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Akero Therapeutics

In other news, VP Patrick Lamy sold 925 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.79, for a total transaction of $28,480.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 17,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $549,847.82. The trade was a 4.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Jonathan Young sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.03, for a total transaction of $280,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 218,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,112,866.49. This trade represents a 4.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 262,135 shares of company stock worth $8,223,000 in the last 90 days. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 446 shares during the period. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Akero Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $100,000. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $205,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $211,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $265,000.

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.