Swiss National Bank Has $5.68 Million Stock Holdings in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. $AKRO

Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) by 12.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 106,400 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,700 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.13% of Akero Therapeutics worth $5,678,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Akero Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. bought a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. bought a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 152.9% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 870 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 30.8% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 390 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AKRO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating and set a $54.00 price objective (down from $72.00) on shares of Akero Therapeutics 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 report on Saturday, October 11th. Lifesci Capital lowered shares of Akero Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Cowen began coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, August 4th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.38.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ AKRO opened at $54.44 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a PE ratio of -28.06 and a beta of -0.40. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.34 and a 52-week high of $58.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.52.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.99) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.94) by ($0.05). As a group, analysts forecast that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Jonathan Young sold 12,500 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.76, for a total value of $597,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 196,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,403,848.48. This trade represents a 5.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Timothy Rolph sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.08, for a total value of $576,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 166,571 shares in the company, valued at $7,675,591.68. This represents a 6.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 101,753 shares of company stock valued at $4,824,989. Company insiders own 7.07% of the company’s stock.

Akero Therapeutics 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.