Janus Henderson Group PLC Increases Stake in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) by 2.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,077,478 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 201,225 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned about 10.14% of Akero Therapeutics worth $203,053,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Akero Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $100,000. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Akero Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $205,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $211,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $265,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 108,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.73, for a total value of $3,438,453.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 605,417 shares in the company, valued at $19,209,881.41. This represents a 15.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jonathan Young sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.18, for a total value of $281,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 226,286 shares in the company, valued at $6,376,739.48. This represents a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 348,248 shares of company stock valued at $10,817,436 over the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup started coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, November 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, November 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Akero Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.83.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Down 3.9 %

AKRO opened at $30.75 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a PE ratio of -8.20 and a beta of -0.23. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $15.32 and a 1-year high of $37.00. The company has a current ratio of 17.25, a quick ratio of 17.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $30.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.58.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($1.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.90) by ($0.15). As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Akero Therapeutics Profile

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.