Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $57.26 and last traded at $54.12, with a volume of 5442847 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.18.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup started coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, November 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.83.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Up 104.4 %

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $28.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 17.25 and a current ratio of 17.25. The stock has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a PE ratio of -14.45 and a beta of -0.19.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Akero Therapeutics news, insider Catriona Yale sold 15,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.62, for a total transaction of $505,120.70. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,158 shares in the company, valued at $2,419,033.96. This represents a 17.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Jonathan Young sold 10,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.03, for a total value of $280,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 218,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,112,866.49. This trade represents a 4.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 262,135 shares of company stock valued at $8,223,000. Corporate insiders own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Akero Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. bought a new position in Akero Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $347,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $565,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 26.1% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 107,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,514,000 after purchasing an additional 22,195 shares during the last quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC increased its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 1,499,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,188,000 after buying an additional 112,426 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $574,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares in 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.