Bank of New York Mellon Corp Increases Stake in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. $AKRO

Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) by 11.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 237,683 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 25,018 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.30% of Akero Therapeutics worth $12,683,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AKRO. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 30.8% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 15.6% in the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,000 after buying an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 9.7% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 8,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. purchased a new stake in Akero Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AKRO opened at $54.33 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a PE ratio of -28.01 and a beta of -0.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $50.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.70. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.34 and a 1-year high of $58.40.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.99) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.94) by ($0.05). Analysts anticipate that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AKRO shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Akero Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Akero Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $56.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Cowen began coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, August 4th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Zacks Research downgraded Akero Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut Akero Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $73.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.38.

Insider Activity at Akero Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 526,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,399,633.72. This represents a 5.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jonathan Young sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.76, for a total transaction of $597,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 196,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,403,848.48. This trade represents a 5.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 114,253 shares of company stock worth $5,400,989. 7.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.