Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Director Buys $4,086,077.75 in Stock

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Director G. Walmsley Graham acquired 91,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $44.75 per share, with a total value of $4,086,077.75. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,091,309 shares in the company, valued at $48,836,077.75. This represents a 9.13 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

G. Walmsley Graham also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, March 27th, G. Walmsley Graham bought 50,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The shares were bought at an average price of $43.55 per share, for a total transaction of $2,177,500.00.
• On Thursday, January 30th, G. Walmsley Graham purchased 200,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The stock was bought at an average price of $48.00 per share, with a total value of $9,600,000.00.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Down 2.0 %

Akero Therapeutics stock opened at $42.72 on Friday. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.86 and a twelve month high of $58.40. The stock has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.39 and a beta of -0.19. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $46.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.08. The company has a quick ratio of 17.25, a current ratio of 17.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last announced its earnings results 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, analysts expect that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AKRO. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 764.3% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Akero Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $83,000. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $197,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $211,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AKRO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group lifted 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 report on Sunday, March 2nd. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their price target on Akero Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.29.

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.