Insider Selling: Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Insider Sells 18,750 Shares of Stock

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) insider Timothy Rolph sold 18,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.51, for a total value of $1,059,562.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 170,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,620,092.87. This represents a 9.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Timothy Rolph also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, January 27th, Timothy Rolph sold 31,250 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.77, for a total value of $1,742,812.50.
• On Tuesday, December 10th, Timothy Rolph sold 4,818 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.91, for a total value of $148,924.38.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AKRO traded down $0.74 during trading on Friday, reaching $54.21. 851,309 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,911,880. The stock has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.46 and a beta of -0.11. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.85. The company has a current ratio of 17.25, a quick ratio of 17.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.84 and a 12-month high of $58.40.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). As a group, research analysts anticipate that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on AKRO shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of Akero Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. HC Wainwright lifted 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. 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $46.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Akero Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $75.86.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AKRO. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the period. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $100,000. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Akero Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $205,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Akero Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 32,588.0% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 8,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 8,147 shares in the last quarter.

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.