Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) COO Sells $281,800.00 in Stock

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) COO Jonathan Young sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.18, for a total transaction of $281,800.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 226,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,376,739.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Jonathan Young also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, September 10th, Jonathan Young sold 568 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.18, for a total value of $14,870.24.
• On Thursday, August 1st, Jonathan Young sold 5,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.75, for a total value of $133,750.00.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Down 5.3 %

AKRO traded down $1.56 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $27.65. 551,306 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 915,610. The company has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.64 and a beta of -0.26. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $11.25 and a one year high of $50.42. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $26.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 24.89 and a current ratio of 24.89.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 9th. The company reported ($0.81) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.90) by $0.09. As a group, analysts expect that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.64 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AKRO shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.13.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AKRO. Perceptive Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 8.1% during the second quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 1,499,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,188,000 after acquiring an additional 112,426 shares during the last quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 119.0% during the second quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 719,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,882,000 after buying an additional 391,000 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 26.1% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 107,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,514,000 after acquiring an additional 22,195 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 237,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,572,000 after purchasing an additional 4,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Akero Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $565,000.

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.