Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $73.3750.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AKRO. Cowen began coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, August 4th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Akero Therapeutics from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Akero Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Akero Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, TD Cowen cut Akero Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Akero Therapeutics stock opened at $54.31 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $51.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.88. Akero Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $21.34 and a twelve month high of $58.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.99 and a beta of -0.35.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.99) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.94) by ($0.05). As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.99 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akero Therapeutics

In other news, COO Jonathan Young sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.08, for a total value of $576,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 197,484 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,100,062.72. This represents a 5.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.25, for a total transaction of $1,297,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 475,698 shares in the company, valued at $20,573,938.50. This trade represents a 5.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 114,253 shares of company stock valued at $5,400,989. 7.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 212,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,609,000 after buying an additional 12,235 shares during the last quarter. Allostery Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the first quarter worth $729,000. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 54.4% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 58,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,369,000 after acquiring an additional 20,620 shares in the last quarter. Informed Momentum Co LLC acquired a new stake in Akero Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at $2,689,000. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 302.9% during the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 82,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,338,000 after acquiring an additional 62,000 shares during the last quarter.

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.