Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Trading Down 8.6% – Here’s Why

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)’s stock price fell 8.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $22.39 and last traded at $22.70. 522,975 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average session volume of 839,253 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AKRO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup assumed coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, November 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, November 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.83.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $29.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.01. The firm has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.95 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 (NASDAQ:AKRO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($1.05) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by ($0.15). As a group, equities analysts predict that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.96 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Akero Therapeutics news, VP Patrick Lamy sold 925 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.79, for a total transaction of $28,480.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $549,847.82. The trade was a 4.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jonathan Young sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.03, for a total transaction of $280,300.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 218,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,112,866.49. This represents a 4.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 325,674 shares of company stock valued at $10,226,385 in the last 90 days. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.