Janus Henderson Group PLC Grows Position in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) by 2.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,077,478 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 201,225 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned approximately 0.10% of Akero Therapeutics worth $203,053,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AKRO. Cinctive Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Akero Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,874,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Akero Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $265,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the third quarter worth about $1,327,000. Fred Alger Management LLC grew its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 117.8% in the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 269,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,735,000 after purchasing an additional 145,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Propel Bio Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 4.9% during the third quarter. Propel Bio Management LLC now owns 343,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,862,000 after buying an additional 15,977 shares during the period.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Catriona Yale sold 2,485 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.52, for a total transaction of $68,387.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 75,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,072,090.88. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 1,738 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.18, for a total transaction of $45,500.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 605,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,849,817.06. This trade represents a 0.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 348,248 shares of company stock worth $10,817,436. 7.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AKRO shares. Citigroup began coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, November 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, November 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.83.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

Akero Therapeutics stock opened at $30.75 on Wednesday. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $15.32 and a 12-month high of $37.00. The stock has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.20 and a beta of -0.23. The company has a current ratio of 17.25, a quick ratio of 17.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.58.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($1.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.90) by ($0.15). Equities analysts expect that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.96 EPS 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.