Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Shares Purchased by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,565 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,322 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Akero Therapeutics were worth $1,156,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 127.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 127,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,662,000 after purchasing an additional 71,652 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 4,022.1% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 597,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,636,000 after buying an additional 583,486 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Akero Therapeutics by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 1,446 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc lifted its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 118.7% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 269,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,505,000 after acquiring an additional 146,424 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 105,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,940,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310 shares during the last quarter.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of AKRO stock opened at $45.31 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.93. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.86 and a 1-year high of $58.40. The company has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.08 and a beta of -0.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 17.25 and a quick ratio of 17.25.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AKRO. Bank of America upgraded shares of Akero Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $35.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted 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 raised their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Sunday, March 2nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Akero Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.29.

Insider Activity at Akero Therapeutics

In other Akero Therapeutics news, COO Jonathan Young sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.81, for a total transaction of $538,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 251,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,514,220.07. This represents a 3.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Patrick Lamy sold 1,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.09, for a total value of $48,090.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 33,492 shares in the company, valued at $1,610,630.28. This represents a 2.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 227,458 shares of company stock valued at $10,271,361. 7.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.