Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) CEO Sells $78,001.44 in Stock

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) CEO Andrew Cheng sold 1,738 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $78,001.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 654,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,366,061.12. The trade was a 0.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Andrew Cheng also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, March 10th, Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.77, for a total value of $1,253,100.00.
• On Monday, February 10th, Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.73, for a total value of $1,581,900.00.
• On Monday, January 27th, Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.90, for a total value of $1,647,000.00.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of Akero Therapeutics stock opened at $44.15 on Monday. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $17.86 and a one year high of $58.40. The company has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.77 and a beta of -0.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 17.25 and a current ratio of 17.25. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $42.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.89.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.99) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.98) by ($0.01). On average, research analysts predict that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AKRO. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Akero Therapeutics by 54.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,896,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,554,000 after purchasing an additional 2,782,029 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Akero Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $37,392,000. RTW Investments LP raised its position in Akero Therapeutics by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 6,859,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,840,000 after purchasing an additional 940,388 shares during the period. Deep Track Capital LP raised its position in Akero Therapeutics by 116.0% in the fourth quarter. Deep Track Capital LP now owns 1,490,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,452,000 after purchasing an additional 800,216 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Akero Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $18,059,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a report on Sunday, March 2nd. Bank of America upgraded Akero Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $35.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group raised their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.29.

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.