Kennondale Capital Management LLC Buys New Shares in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Kennondale Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 28,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $785,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,782,029 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $37,392,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 583,486 shares in the last quarter. RTW Investments LP lifted 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 acquiring an additional 487,450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 201,225 shares in the last quarter.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of AKRO stock opened at $44.82 on Tuesday. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.86 and a 1 year high of $58.40. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.02. The company has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a PE ratio of -11.95 and a beta of -0.19.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Akero Therapeutics

In other news, COO Jonathan Young sold 607 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $27,242.16. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 200,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,000,235.20. This represents a 0.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 1,738 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 242,135 shares of company stock worth $11,897,479 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective 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 boosted their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. 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 boosted their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Sunday, March 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Akero Therapeutics presently has a consensus 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.