Jonathan Young Sells 10,000 Shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Stock

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) COO Jonathan Young sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.81, for a total transaction of $538,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 251,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,514,220.07. The trade was a 3.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

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

• 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 value of $280,300.00.
• On Tuesday, December 10th, Jonathan Young sold 2,503 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.79, for a total value of $77,067.37.
• On Monday, December 2nd, Jonathan Young sold 10,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.13, for a total value of $321,300.00.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Down 4.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AKRO opened at $54.95 on Friday. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.25 and a 52-week high of $58.40. 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 $3.84 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.65 and a beta of -0.11. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.68.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($1.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by ($0.15). Sell-side analysts forecast that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AKRO. 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. UBS Group lifted their price target 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. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $50.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $46.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Akero Therapeutics has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.86.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $565,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 26.1% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 107,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,514,000 after buying an additional 22,195 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $574,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Creative Planning acquired a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $371,000. Finally, Rheos Capital Works Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 276,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,918,000 after acquiring an additional 60,000 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.