Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Receives $76.29 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $76.29.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AKRO. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a report on Sunday, March 2nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America upgraded Akero Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $35.00 to $63.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AKRO opened at $44.86 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $41.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.67. Akero Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $17.86 and a 12-month high of $58.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.96 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 earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.99) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.98) by ($0.01). On average, equities analysts anticipate that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jonathan Young sold 10,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.03, for a total transaction of $280,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.90, for a total value of $1,647,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 716,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,311,803.80. This represents a 4.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 248,574 shares of company stock valued at $12,027,614 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in Akero Therapeutics by 764.3% during 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 last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Akero Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $83,000. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 6.8% during the 4th 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, Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Akero Therapeutics in the third quarter worth about $205,000.

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.