G. Walmsley Graham Acquires 50,000 Shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Stock

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Director G. Walmsley Graham acquired 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $43.55 per share, with a total value of $2,177,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,200,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,260,000. This trade represents a 4.35 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

G. Walmsley Graham also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, March 25th, G. Walmsley Graham acquired 91,309 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The stock was bought at an average cost of $44.75 per share, for a total transaction of $4,086,077.75.
• On Thursday, January 30th, G. Walmsley Graham acquired 200,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $48.00 per share, with a total value of $9,600,000.00.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of AKRO stock opened at $42.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 17.25 and a current ratio of 17.25. The company has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.39 and a beta of -0.19. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.86 and a 52-week high of $58.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.02.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AKRO. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Akero Therapeutics by 54.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,896,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,554,000 after buying an additional 2,782,029 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position 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 valued at $203,053,000 after acquiring an additional 201,225 shares during the period. RTW Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 6,859,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,840,000 after purchasing an additional 940,388 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,321,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,238,000 after purchasing an additional 513,613 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,704,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,057,000 after purchasing an additional 27,830 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AKRO shares. HC Wainwright upped their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America upgraded shares of 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Sunday, March 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.29.

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.