Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. $AKRO

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) by 174.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,573 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 18,176 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Akero Therapeutics were worth $1,525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 20.5% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 60,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,248,000 after acquiring an additional 10,376 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 12.4% during the second quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 106,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,678,000 after purchasing an additional 11,700 shares in the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 21.5% during the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 188,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,054,000 after purchasing an additional 33,365 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 12,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $652,000 after buying an additional 792 shares during the last quarter.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AKRO opened at $54.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.16 and a beta of -0.40. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.69. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.34 and a fifty-two week high of $58.40.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.99) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.94) by ($0.05). As a group, research analysts predict that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AKRO. Canaccord Genuity Group cut Akero Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Wolfe Research lowered Akero Therapeutics from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Akero Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of Akero Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note 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 issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akero Therapeutics

In other news, insider Catriona Yale sold 659 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.02, for a total transaction of $28,350.18. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 90,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,907,463.58. This represents a 0.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Timothy Rolph sold 12,500 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.08, for a total value of $576,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 166,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,675,591.68. The trade was a 6.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 101,753 shares of company stock worth $4,824,989. 7.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Akero Therapeutics 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.