Andrew Cheng Sells 30,000 Shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Stock

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.90, for a total value of $1,647,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 716,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,311,803.80. This trade represents a 4.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Andrew Cheng also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, December 10th, Andrew Cheng sold 7,855 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.79, for a total transaction of $241,855.45.
• On Monday, December 2nd, Andrew Cheng sold 25,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.09, for a total transaction of $802,250.00.
• On Friday, November 1st, Andrew Cheng sold 108,366 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.73, for a total transaction of $3,438,453.18.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AKRO opened at $55.36 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $29.78 and its 200-day moving average is $28.69. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.32 and a 52 week high of $58.40. The company has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a PE ratio of -14.76 and a beta of -0.19.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($1.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by ($0.15). Equities research analysts predict that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AKRO. Simplify Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 15.6% in the third quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 283,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,141,000 after purchasing an additional 38,279 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 732.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 30,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $870,000 after buying an additional 26,691 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 4,022.1% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 597,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,636,000 after buying an additional 583,486 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 127.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 127,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,662,000 after acquiring an additional 71,652 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Propel Bio Management LLC increased its position in Akero Therapeutics by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Propel Bio Management LLC now owns 343,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,862,000 after acquiring an additional 15,977 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AKRO shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $46.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $50.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Akero Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Thursday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Akero Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.29.

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.