State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Trims Stake in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. $AKRO

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lessened its position in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) by 1.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,461 shares of the company’s stock after selling 541 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Akero Therapeutics were worth $2,052,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $10,404,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 6.1% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 212,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,609,000 after purchasing an additional 12,235 shares during the period. Allostery Investments LP purchased a new stake in Akero Therapeutics in the first quarter worth about $729,000. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 54.4% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 58,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,369,000 after buying an additional 20,620 shares during the period. Finally, Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 19.0% in the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the period.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AKRO opened at $54.00 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. The company has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.00 and a beta of -0.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $48.33 and its 200 day moving average is $48.29. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.34 and a 12 month high of $58.40.

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

Insider Activity at Akero Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.98, for a total transaction of $1,619,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 526,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,399,633.72. This represents a 5.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Catriona Yale sold 659 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.02, for a total transaction of $28,350.18. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 90,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,907,463.58. The trade was a 0.72% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 169,253 shares of company stock valued at $8,072,314 over the last three months. Company insiders own 7.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AKRO shares. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Akero Therapeutics from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $54.00 target price (down previously from $72.00) on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded shares of Akero Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Akero Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.38.

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.