Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Now Covered by Bank of America

Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) in a report issued on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on AKRO. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $37.71.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Up 0.1 %

AKRO stock opened at $20.79 on Monday. Akero Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $11.25 and a twelve month high of $58.38. The company has a current ratio of 29.27, a quick ratio of 29.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.29 and a beta of -0.38. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.19.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported ($0.99) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.82) by ($0.17). On average, equities research analysts predict that Akero Therapeutics will post -4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akero Therapeutics

In other Akero Therapeutics news, COO Jonathan Young sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.38, for a total value of $121,900.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 263,306 shares in the company, valued at $6,419,400.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Catriona Yale sold 20,646 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.49, for a total transaction of $732,726.54. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 78,415 shares in the company, valued at $2,782,948.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Jonathan Young sold 5,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.38, for a total transaction of $121,900.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 263,306 shares in the company, valued at $6,419,400.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 100,646 shares of company stock worth $3,319,877. 9.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at about $383,000. Quattro Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 43,378.3% during the first quarter. Quattro Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 9,977 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at about $211,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 247.7% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter.

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.