Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) CEO Andrew Cheng Sells 30,000 Shares of Stock

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.59, for a total value of $1,457,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 490,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,845,882.63. This represents a 5.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

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

• On Thursday, July 10th, Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.16, for a total value of $1,534,800.00.
• On Wednesday, June 18th, Andrew Cheng sold 6,620 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.84, for a total value of $363,040.80.
• On Tuesday, June 10th, Andrew Cheng sold 37,837 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.05, for a total value of $2,045,089.85.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Up 0.6%

AKRO stock opened at $48.31 on Thursday. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.34 and a twelve month high of $58.40. The company has a quick ratio of 16.80, a current ratio of 12.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $52.13 and its 200-day moving average is $47.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a PE ratio of -24.16 and a beta of -0.28.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.86) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.97) by $0.11. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.81) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on AKRO. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Cowen began coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, August 4th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. TD Cowen began coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, August 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Akero Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.57.

Institutional Trading of Akero Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Optimize Financial Inc bought a new stake in Akero Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $209,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 255.8% during the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 21,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,128,000 after acquiring an additional 15,204 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 42.8% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 167,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,927,000 after acquiring an additional 50,184 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 32.5% in the second quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 27,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,486,000 after buying an additional 6,836 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 28.1% in the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 149,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,974,000 after buying an additional 32,824 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.