Janus Henderson Group PLC Has $154.59 Million Stake in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) by 42.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,121,970 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,815,569 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned approximately 0.09% of Akero Therapeutics worth $154,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,012,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,356,000 after purchasing an additional 326,308 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 352.2% in the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,449 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 5,023 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 39,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $931,000 after purchasing an additional 9,567 shares during the period. Strs Ohio grew its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, HealthInvest Partners AB acquired a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $360,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AKRO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $50.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 7,894 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.64, for a total value of $178,720.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 581,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,166,359.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Akero Therapeutics news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 7,894 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,166,359.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jonathan Young sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.15, for a total transaction of $100,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 258,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,204,865.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 205,529 shares of company stock worth $5,419,376. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ AKRO traded down $0.41 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $26.61. 462,358 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,047,244. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 30.12 and a current ratio of 30.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.44 and a beta of -0.28. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.25 and a 12-month high of $53.77. The business has a 50 day moving average of $23.12 and a 200-day moving average of $23.02.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 10th. The company reported ($0.90) EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.90). As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.