Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Stock Price Down 3.3% – What’s Next?

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)’s share price fell 3.3% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $53.14 and last traded at $53.81. 104,600 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 1,005,927 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.62.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AKRO shares. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a report on Sunday, March 2nd. Citigroup cut their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $82.50.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 17.25, a current ratio of 17.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.58 and a beta of -0.16. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.41.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.01) by $1.91. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director G. Walmsley Graham acquired 91,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was acquired 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,836,077.75. This trade represents a 9.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO William Richard White sold 2,804 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.99, for a total value of $151,387.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 59,155 shares in the company, valued at $3,193,778.45. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 206,787 shares of company stock valued at $9,507,000 in the last quarter. 7.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Akero Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Tema Etfs LLC purchased a new stake in Akero Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $894,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $840,000. RTW Investments LP increased its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 6,859,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,840,000 after purchasing an additional 940,388 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Akero Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $422,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 195.7% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 41,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,143,000 after buying an additional 27,200 shares during the last quarter.

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.