Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Short Interest Update

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,820,000 shares, a decline of 19.1% from the October 15th total of 4,720,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 512,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Catriona Yale sold 8,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.53, for a total value of $243,668.03. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 75,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,090,380.43. This represents a 10.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 108,366 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.73, for a total transaction of $3,438,453.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 605,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,209,881.41. This represents a 15.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 428,397 shares of company stock valued at $12,997,971 in the last ninety days. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 54.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,896,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,554,000 after acquiring an additional 2,782,029 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 42.2% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,121,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $154,589,000 after purchasing an additional 1,815,569 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the third quarter worth approximately $37,392,000. Redmile Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 67.5% in the first quarter. Redmile Group LLC now owns 1,858,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,951,000 after purchasing an additional 749,226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 19.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,669,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,702,000 after buying an additional 584,875 shares during the last quarter.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of AKRO opened at $28.09 on Friday. Akero Therapeutics has a one year low of $13.86 and a one year high of $37.00. The company has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of -7.49 and a beta of -0.26. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $29.46 and a 200-day moving average of $25.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 17.25 and a quick ratio of 24.89.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($1.05) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by ($0.15). On average, equities research analysts predict that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.94 EPS for the current fiscal 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.