Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) released its quarterly earnings results on Friday. The company reported ($0.99) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.98) by ($0.01), Zacks reports.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of AKRO stock traded up $0.59 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $48.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 260,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,555,983. Akero Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $17.86 and a fifty-two week high of $58.40. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.34. The company has a quick ratio of 17.25, a current ratio of 17.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.90 and a beta of -0.11.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AKRO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Akero Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $35.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $50.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Akero Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $75.86.

Insider Transactions at Akero Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.73, for a total value of $1,581,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 686,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,176,049.26. The trade was a 4.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Catriona Yale sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total transaction of $498,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 95,648 shares in the company, valued at $4,769,965.76. This trade represents a 9.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 208,992 shares of company stock valued at $9,633,413. Corporate insiders own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

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.