Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $75.86.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AKRO. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $50.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $46.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America raised Akero Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th.

Insider Activity at Akero Therapeutics

In other news, Director G. Walmsley Graham purchased 200,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $48.00 per share, with a total value of $9,600,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,000,000 shares in the company, valued at $48,000,000. The trade was a 25.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Jonathan Young sold 10,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.03, for a total transaction of $280,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 218,083 shares in the company, valued at $6,112,866.49. This trade represents a 4.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 198,992 shares of company stock valued at $9,134,713. 7.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Creative Planning bought a new stake in Akero Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $371,000. Rheos Capital Works Inc. increased its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 276,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,918,000 after purchasing an additional 60,000 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $100,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 64.4% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 13,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $383,000 after buying an additional 5,230 shares in the last quarter.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ AKRO opened at $50.58 on Friday. Akero Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $17.86 and a 12 month high of $58.40. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.49. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of -13.49 and a beta of -0.11.

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.