Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Friday morning.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, August 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price target for the company. Cowen assumed coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, August 4th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, HC Wainwright assumed coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.14.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

AKRO stock opened at $46.10 on Friday. Akero Therapeutics has a one year low of $21.34 and a one year high of $58.40. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 12.66 and a current ratio of 12.66. The firm has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.05 and a beta of -0.29.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.86) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.97) by $0.11. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.81) EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akero Therapeutics

In related news, COO Jonathan Young sold 12,500 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.76, for a total value of $597,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 196,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,403,848.48. The trade was a 5.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.02, for a total transaction of $77,263.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 473,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,387,264.04. This trade represents a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 179,253 shares of company stock valued at $8,579,839. Corporate insiders own 7.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AKRO. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $57,396,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 406.7% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,320,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,460,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059,860 shares in the last quarter. Bellevue Group AG lifted its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 58.7% in the second quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 1,985,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,934,000 after acquiring an additional 734,606 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 93.3% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,155,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,786,000 after acquiring an additional 557,794 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in Akero Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $21,333,000.

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.