Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nine analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $41.13.

AKRO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Akero Therapeutics from $50.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Akero Therapeutics news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 7,894 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.64, for a total transaction of $178,720.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 581,553 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,166,359.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Akero Therapeutics news, COO Jonathan Young sold 5,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.15, for a total transaction of $100,750.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 258,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,204,865.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 7,894 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.64, for a total value of $178,720.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 581,553 shares in the company, valued at $13,166,359.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,635 shares of company stock worth $690,816 in the last three months. 7.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 42.2% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,121,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $154,589,000 after acquiring an additional 1,815,569 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,060,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,569,000 after purchasing an additional 384,555 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 19.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,669,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,702,000 after purchasing an additional 584,875 shares during the period. RTW Investments LP acquired a new position in Akero Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $83,891,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 247.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,881,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,294,000 after purchasing an additional 2,053,028 shares during the period.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Up 4.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AKRO opened at $24.00 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $21.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.68. The company has a current ratio of 30.12, a quick ratio of 30.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Akero Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $11.25 and a 12-month high of $53.77. The firm has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.50 and a beta of -0.28.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 10th. The company reported ($0.90) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.90). On average, research analysts forecast that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.82 EPS for the current year.

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.