Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Reaches New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $46.00 to $96.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Akero Therapeutics traded as high as $57.26 and last traded at $54.12, with a volume of 5442847 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $26.18.

AKRO has been the subject of a number of other research reports. HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $50.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.57.

Insider Transactions at Akero Therapeutics

In related news, VP Patrick Lamy sold 925 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.79, for a total transaction of $28,480.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $549,847.82. This represents a 4.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 108,366 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.73, for a total value of $3,438,453.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 605,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,209,881.41. The trade was a 15.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 257,620 shares of company stock worth $8,076,127 over the last three months. 7.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 21.6% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $100,000. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $205,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $211,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Akero Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $265,000.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Down 0.5 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.73 and a beta of -0.19. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 17.25 and a quick ratio of 17.25.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($1.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by ($0.15). On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.