D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) by 71.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,809 shares of the company’s stock after selling 89,573 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned about 0.05% of Akero Therapeutics worth $996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AKRO. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $197,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Akero Therapeutics by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 7,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $220,000 after buying an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in Akero Therapeutics by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 21,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $584,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 95,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,660,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Akero Therapeutics by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 105,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,940,000 after buying an additional 1,310 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup cut their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Akero Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $82.33.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Down 5.3%

Shares of AKRO opened at $46.36 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $40.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.27. The company has a current ratio of 17.25, a quick ratio of 17.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.86 and a 12-month high of $58.40. The firm has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.36 and a beta of -0.12.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.01) by $1.91. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Patrick Lamy sold 4,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $200,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 33,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,674,600. The trade was a 10.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Catriona Yale sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.30, for a total transaction of $393,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,734,836.20. This trade represents a 9.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 223,208 shares of company stock worth $9,313,294 in the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Akero Therapeutics 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.