Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Now Covered by Analysts at Citigroup

Stock analysts at Citigroup began coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup’s target price indicates a potential upside of 131.40% from the stock’s previous close.

Separately, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Akero Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.83.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

AKRO stock opened at $28.09 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $29.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.67. The company has a quick ratio of 24.89, a current ratio of 17.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.49 and a beta of -0.26. Akero Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $13.86 and a fifty-two week high of $37.00.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($1.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.90) by ($0.15). Equities research analysts anticipate that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Akero Therapeutics

In other Akero Therapeutics news, COO Jonathan Young sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.18, for a total transaction of $281,800.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 226,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,376,739.48. The trade was a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Catriona Yale sold 8,851 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.53, for a total transaction of $243,668.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 75,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,090,380.43. This represents a 10.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 428,397 shares of company stock worth $12,997,971 in the last three months. Insiders own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Akero Therapeutics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 54.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,896,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,554,000 after buying an additional 2,782,029 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 2.9% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,077,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,053,000 after purchasing an additional 201,225 shares during the last quarter. RTW Investments LP grew its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 9.0% in the third quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 5,919,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,829,000 after purchasing an additional 487,450 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,060,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,569,000 after purchasing an additional 384,555 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 19.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,669,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,702,000 after purchasing an additional 584,875 shares during the last quarter.

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.