TD Cowen Begins Coverage on Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Analysts at TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) in a note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 53.35% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on AKRO. Citigroup dropped their price target on Akero Therapeutics from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.57.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Up 1.9%

Akero Therapeutics stock opened at $49.56 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $52.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.49. The company has a quick ratio of 16.80, a current ratio of 16.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Akero Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $21.34 and a twelve month high of $58.40. The company has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.42 and a beta of -0.28.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.01) by $1.91. As a group, equities analysts predict that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.99 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Akero Therapeutics

In other news, VP Patrick Lamy sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.88, for a total transaction of $105,760.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 29,891 shares in the company, valued at $1,580,636.08. This represents a 6.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.16, for a total transaction of $1,534,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 520,757 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,641,928.12. The trade was a 5.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 215,406 shares of company stock worth $10,979,995 in the last 90 days. 7.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Akero Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in Akero Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the first quarter worth $32,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in Akero Therapeutics by 764.3% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 1,582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Akero Therapeutics by 30.8% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 390 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.