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 business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.90, for a total transaction of $1,647,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 716,062 shares in the company, valued at $39,311,803.80. The trade was a 4.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

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

• On Tuesday, December 10th, Andrew Cheng sold 7,855 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.79, for a total transaction of $241,855.45.
• On Monday, December 2nd, Andrew Cheng sold 25,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.09, for a total value of $802,250.00.
• On Friday, November 1st, Andrew Cheng sold 108,366 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.73, for a total value of $3,438,453.18.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AKRO traded up $2.53 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $54.00. 3,613,883 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,167,465. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 17.25 and a current ratio of 17.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.40 and a beta of -0.19. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $15.32 and a fifty-two week high of $58.40. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.51.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last issued 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, equities analysts anticipate that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AKRO has been the subject of several analyst reports. HC Wainwright upped their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $50.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $46.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.57.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 2.9% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,077,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,053,000 after acquiring an additional 201,225 shares in the last quarter. RTW Investments LP grew its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 9.0% during the third quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 5,919,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,829,000 after acquiring an additional 487,450 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Akero Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,392,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 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.