Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.71.

A number of research firms have recently commented on AKRO. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Up 4.3 %

Shares of Akero Therapeutics stock opened at $19.74 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.93 and a beta of -0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 29.27, a current ratio of 29.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Akero Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $11.25 and a 12-month high of $58.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $24.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.76.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported ($0.99) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.82) by ($0.17). On average, analysts forecast that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Akero Therapeutics

In other Akero Therapeutics news, COO Jonathan Young sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.38, for a total transaction of $121,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 263,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,419,400.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Catriona Yale sold 20,646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.49, for a total value of $732,726.54. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 78,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,782,948.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Jonathan Young sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.38, for a total value of $121,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 263,306 shares in the company, valued at $6,419,400.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 100,646 shares of company stock valued at $3,319,877. 9.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 139.6% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 19,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $968,000 after purchasing an additional 11,148 shares in the last quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Akero Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,828,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Akero Therapeutics by 225.0% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 500,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,302,000 after acquiring an additional 346,317 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new position in Akero Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $238,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 26.8% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 2,090 shares during the period.

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.