Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) COO Sells $2,243,000.00 in Stock

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) COO Jonathan Young sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.86, for a total transaction of $2,243,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 201,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,023,454.42. This trade represents a 19.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Jonathan Young also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, February 3rd, Jonathan Young sold 10,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.81, for a total transaction of $538,100.00.
• On Thursday, January 2nd, Jonathan Young sold 10,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.03, for a total transaction of $280,300.00.
• On Tuesday, December 10th, Jonathan Young sold 2,503 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.79, for a total transaction of $77,067.37.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of AKRO opened at $42.12 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $40.49 and its 200-day moving average is $33.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.23 and a beta of -0.19. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.86 and a 12-month high of $58.40.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.99) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.98) by ($0.01). Equities research analysts anticipate that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised shares of Akero Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $35.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $46.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.29.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AKRO. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 54.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,896,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,554,000 after buying an additional 2,782,029 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the third quarter worth about $37,392,000. RTW Investments LP boosted its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 6,859,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,840,000 after buying an additional 940,388 shares during the period. Deep Track Capital LP boosted its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 116.0% during the fourth quarter. Deep Track Capital LP now owns 1,490,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,452,000 after purchasing an additional 800,216 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $18,059,000.

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.