Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) had its price target hoisted by UBS Group from $42.00 to $109.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on AKRO. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $46.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $50.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America raised Akero Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Akero Therapeutics has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.86.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AKRO opened at $54.08 on Friday. Akero Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $15.32 and a 1 year high of $58.40. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $30.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 17.25 and a current ratio of 17.25.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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, research analysts anticipate that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Catriona Yale sold 9,061 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.73, for a total value of $251,261.53. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 74,158 shares in the company, valued at $2,056,401.34. This trade represents a 10.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.09, for a total transaction of $802,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 605,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,427,831.53. This represents a 3.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 149,303 shares of company stock valued at $6,206,412 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position 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 worth $226,554,000 after acquiring an additional 2,782,029 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,392,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 4,022.1% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 597,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,636,000 after purchasing an additional 583,486 shares during the last quarter. RTW Investments LP grew its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 9.0% in the third quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 5,919,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,829,000 after purchasing an additional 487,450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 2.9% in the third 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 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.