Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Earns “Buy” Rating from HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright restated their buy rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $50.00 target price on the stock.

Separately, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.83.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AKRO opened at $29.56 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 24.89 and a current ratio of 17.25. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $29.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.73. The company has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a PE ratio of -7.88 and a beta of -0.26. Akero Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $15.32 and a 1 year high of $37.00.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($1.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.90) by ($0.15). On average, research analysts predict that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Akero Therapeutics

In other news, CFO William Richard White sold 75,159 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total value of $2,045,076.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 41,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,137,133.11. This trade represents a 64.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 1,738 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.18, for a total transaction of $45,500.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 605,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,849,817.06. The trade was a 0.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 428,397 shares of company stock valued at $12,997,971. 7.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 2,366.0% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 21.6% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Akero Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $100,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 20.0% in the first quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 6,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,000 after acquiring an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Akero Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $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.