71,542 Shares in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Purchased by abrdn plc

abrdn plc bought a new position in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 71,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,671,000. abrdn plc owned about 0.13% of Akero Therapeutics as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AKRO. HealthInvest Partners AB purchased a new stake in Akero Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $360,000. Strs Ohio increased its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 31.6% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 39,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $931,000 after buying an additional 9,567 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 352.2% during the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,449 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 5,023 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,012,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,356,000 after acquiring an additional 326,308 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AKRO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a report on Monday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.71.

Insider Transactions at Akero Therapeutics

In related news, COO Jonathan Young sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.38, for a total transaction of $121,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 263,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,419,400.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.87, for a total transaction of $2,465,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 591,416 shares in the company, valued at $19,439,843.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Jonathan Young sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.38, for a total value of $121,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 263,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,419,400.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 100,646 shares of company stock worth $3,319,877. Insiders own 9.69% of the company’s stock.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Down 0.6 %

AKRO opened at $19.62 on Tuesday. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.25 and a 12 month high of $58.38. The company has a current ratio of 29.27, a quick ratio of 29.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $24.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.85. The company has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.88 and a beta of -0.38.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported ($0.99) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.82) by ($0.17). On average, equities analysts expect that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.93 EPS for the current 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.