Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Earns Buy Rating from HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright reiterated their buy rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $50.00 target price on the stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on AKRO. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. They set an outperform rating on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an overweight rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $41.13.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of AKRO opened at $28.00 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 24.89, a current ratio of 24.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Akero Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $11.25 and a twelve month high of $51.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.75 and a beta of -0.26. The company has a 50 day moving average of $26.28 and a 200-day moving average of $23.98.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 9th. The company reported ($0.81) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.90) by $0.09. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Jonathan Young sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.40, for a total value of $117,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 246,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,776,383.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Akero Therapeutics news, COO Jonathan Young sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.40, for a total value of $117,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 246,854 shares in the company, valued at $5,776,383.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Catriona Yale sold 5,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.51, for a total transaction of $143,052.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 75,931 shares in the company, valued at $2,088,861.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 283,042 shares of company stock valued at $7,679,955 over the last 90 days. 7.94% of the stock is currently 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. Perceptive Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 8.1% during the second quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 1,499,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,188,000 after purchasing an additional 112,426 shares during the period. Long Focus Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 119.0% in the 2nd quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 719,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,882,000 after buying an additional 391,000 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Akero Therapeutics by 26.1% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 107,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,514,000 after buying an additional 22,195 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 2.1% during the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 237,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,572,000 after buying an additional 4,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $565,000.

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.