Insider Selling: Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) COO Sells $280,300.00 in Stock

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) COO Jonathan Young sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.03, for a total value of $280,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 218,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,112,866.49. The trade was a 4.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Jonathan Young also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, December 10th, Jonathan Young sold 2,503 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.79, for a total value of $77,067.37.
• On Monday, December 2nd, Jonathan Young sold 10,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.13, for a total value of $321,300.00.
• On Friday, November 1st, Jonathan Young sold 50,716 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.57, for a total transaction of $1,601,104.12.
• On Monday, October 14th, Jonathan Young sold 40,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.15, for a total transaction of $1,206,000.00.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Down 1.7 %

NASDAQ AKRO opened at $26.16 on Thursday. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $15.32 and a 12 month high of $37.00. The company has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.98 and a beta of -0.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 17.25 and a quick ratio of 17.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $30.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.96.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($1.05) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.90) by ($0.15). On average, sell-side analysts expect that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AKRO. Simplify Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 283,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,141,000 after acquiring an additional 38,279 shares during the period. Perceptive Advisors LLC grew its position in Akero Therapeutics by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 1,499,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,188,000 after purchasing an additional 112,426 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 732.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 30,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $870,000 after purchasing an additional 26,691 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 127.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 127,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,662,000 after buying an additional 71,652 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 32.8% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 251,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,894,000 after buying an additional 61,988 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a report on Monday, November 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a report on Monday, November 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Akero Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.83.

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.