Invesco Ltd. Purchases 18,658 Shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. $AKRO

Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) by 18.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 117,121 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 18,658 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 0.15% of Akero Therapeutics worth $4,741,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tema Etfs LLC bought a new position in Akero Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $894,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $10,404,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Akero Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $840,000. RTW Investments LP grew its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 6,859,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,840,000 after acquiring an additional 940,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $422,000.

Insider Transactions at Akero Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 37,837 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.05, for a total transaction of $2,045,089.85. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 556,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,078,122.35. This trade represents a 6.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jonathan Young sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.79, for a total value of $597,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 197,484 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,437,760.36. This trade represents a 5.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 226,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,813,920 in the last 90 days. 7.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AKRO shares. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, August 4th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a report on Monday, August 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Akero Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.57.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Up 0.1%

Akero Therapeutics stock opened at $48.19 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 12.66, a quick ratio of 12.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.34 and a 12 month high of $58.40. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.94. The firm has a market cap of $3.85 billion, a PE ratio of -24.10 and a beta of -0.28.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.86) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.97) by $0.11. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.81) earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current 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.