Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Shares Down 6.3% – Should You Sell?

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) shares traded down 6.3% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $43.16 and last traded at $42.38. 56,274 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 804,962 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.24.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AKRO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. HC Wainwright raised their price target on Akero Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $76.29.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Down 6.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.33 and a beta of -0.19. The company has a current ratio of 17.25, a quick ratio of 17.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $44.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.78.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.99) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.98) by ($0.01). On average, sell-side analysts predict that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.90, for a total value of $1,647,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 716,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,311,803.80. The trade was a 4.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Patrick Lamy sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $285,150.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 33,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,910,048.76. This represents a 12.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 252,135 shares of company stock worth $12,345,079. 7.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Akero Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AKRO. abrdn plc boosted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 118.7% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 269,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,505,000 after acquiring an additional 146,424 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 732.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 30,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $870,000 after purchasing an additional 26,691 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $320,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Akero Therapeutics by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 540,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,042,000 after purchasing an additional 8,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 4,022.1% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 597,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,636,000 after buying an additional 583,486 shares during the period.

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.