Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) CEO Sells $1,253,100.00 in Stock

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.77, for a total transaction of $1,253,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 656,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,403,709.74. This trade represents a 4.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Andrew Cheng also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, March 12th, Andrew Cheng sold 1,738 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $78,001.44.
• On Monday, February 10th, Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.73, for a total value of $1,581,900.00.
• On Monday, January 27th, Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.90, for a total transaction of $1,647,000.00.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of Akero Therapeutics stock opened at $44.15 on Friday. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.86 and a 1 year high of $58.40. The firm has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.77 and a beta of -0.19. The company has a 50-day moving average of $42.10 and a 200 day moving average of $33.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 17.25 and a quick ratio of 17.25.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.99) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.98) by ($0.01). As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised Akero Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $76.29.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Akero Therapeutics by 54.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,896,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,554,000 after purchasing an additional 2,782,029 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 2.9% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,077,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,053,000 after acquiring an additional 201,225 shares in the last quarter. RTW Investments LP increased its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 6,859,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,840,000 after acquiring an additional 940,388 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,321,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,238,000 after purchasing an additional 513,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,704,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,057,000 after purchasing an additional 27,830 shares during the last quarter.

Akero Therapeutics Company 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.