Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Shares Up 4.8% Following Analyst Upgrade

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)’s share price traded up 4.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $46.00 to $96.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Akero Therapeutics traded as high as $55.74 and last traded at $53.96. 2,331,912 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 11% from the average session volume of 2,092,562 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.47.

AKRO has been the subject of a number of other reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $50.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akero Therapeutics

In other Akero Therapeutics news, insider Catriona Yale sold 9,061 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.73, for a total transaction of $251,261.53. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 74,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,056,401.34. The trade was a 10.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Patrick Lamy sold 925 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.79, for a total value of $28,480.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 17,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $549,847.82. This represents a 4.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 257,620 shares of company stock worth $8,076,127. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake 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 valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $100,000. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Akero Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $205,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $211,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $265,000.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 17.25 and a quick ratio of 17.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a PE ratio of -14.43 and a beta of -0.19. The company has a 50-day moving average of $29.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.51.

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). Sell-side analysts predict that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.