Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Given Buy Rating at HC Wainwright

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities research analysts at HC Wainwright in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $50.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright’s target price suggests a potential upside of 121.43% from the company’s previous close.

Separately, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, November 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.83.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ AKRO traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $22.58. The company had a trading volume of 179,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 857,701. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $29.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.01. The company has a market capitalization of $1.58 billion, a PE ratio of -6.02 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 has a twelve month low of $15.32 and a twelve month high of $37.00.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($1.05) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.90) by ($0.15). As a group, analysts anticipate that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Akero Therapeutics

In other Akero Therapeutics news, insider Catriona Yale sold 15,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.62, for a total value of $505,120.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 74,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,419,033.96. This represents a 17.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 63,539 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.53, for a total value of $2,003,384.67. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 605,417 shares in the company, valued at $19,088,798.01. The trade was a 9.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 325,674 shares of company stock valued at $10,226,385. 7.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 54.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,896,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,554,000 after acquiring an additional 2,782,029 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $37,392,000. RTW Investments LP grew its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 9.0% in the third quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 5,919,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,829,000 after purchasing an additional 487,450 shares during the last quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 119.0% in the second quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 719,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,882,000 after purchasing an additional 391,000 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Akero Therapeutics by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,077,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,053,000 after purchasing an additional 201,225 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.