abrdn plc Purchases Shares of 71,542 Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

abrdn plc purchased a new position in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 71,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,671,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 97,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,921,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Strs Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank boosted its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 18.2% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 7,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 1,166 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Bank of America began coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a report on Monday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Akero Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.71.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Down 0.6 %

AKRO opened at $19.62 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $24.63 and a 200 day moving average of $20.85. The company has a current ratio of 29.27, a quick ratio of 29.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.25 and a 12 month high of $58.38. The firm has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.88 and a beta of -0.38.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported ($0.99) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.82) by ($0.17). As a group, research analysts forecast that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.93 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Akero Therapeutics news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.87, for a total transaction of $2,465,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 591,416 shares in the company, valued at $19,439,843.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, COO Jonathan Young sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.38, for a total transaction of $121,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 263,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,419,400.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.87, for a total value of $2,465,250.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 591,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,439,843.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 100,646 shares of company stock worth $3,319,877 over the last three months. 9.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.