Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Stock Rating Upgraded by Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $63.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $35.00.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $46.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. HC Wainwright raised their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $50.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Akero Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $66.29.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ AKRO opened at $55.36 on Thursday. 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 moving average is $29.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.69. The firm has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.76 and a beta of -0.19. Akero Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $15.32 and a fifty-two week high of $58.40.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Catriona Yale sold 9,061 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.73, for a total transaction of $251,261.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,158 shares in the company, valued at $2,056,401.34. This represents a 10.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Patrick Lamy sold 925 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.79, for a total value of $28,480.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 17,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $549,847.82. This represents a 4.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 149,303 shares of company stock valued at $6,206,412. 7.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 54.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,896,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,554,000 after purchasing an additional 2,782,029 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,077,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,053,000 after buying an additional 201,225 shares during the last quarter. RTW Investments LP boosted its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 5,919,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,829,000 after buying an additional 487,450 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Akero Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,392,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 4,022.1% in the 4th 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 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.