Insider Selling: Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) CEO Sells 30,000 Shares of Stock

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

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

• 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 stock was sold at an average price of $54.90, for a total value of $1,647,000.00.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Up 4.6 %

AKRO traded up $2.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $45.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,222,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 846,802. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.86 and a 1 year high of $58.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $41.09 and its 200-day moving average is $33.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.23 and a beta of -0.19. The company has a current ratio of 17.25, a quick ratio of 17.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.99) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.98) by ($0.01). As a group, research analysts expect that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AKRO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America raised shares of Akero Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Akero Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $76.29.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

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