Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Receives $73.38 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $73.3750.

A number of analysts have recently commented on AKRO shares. Lifesci Capital cut Akero Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Akero Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $56.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded Akero Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $54.00 in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $54.00 target price (down from $72.00) on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a report on Friday, October 10th.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:AKRO opened at $54.65 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.22. Akero Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $21.34 and a twelve month high of $58.40. The company has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a PE ratio of -28.17 and a beta of -0.40.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.99) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.94) by ($0.05). As a group, equities research analysts predict that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akero Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.98, for a total value of $1,619,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 526,114 shares in the company, valued at $28,399,633.72. The trade was a 5.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Timothy Rolph sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.08, for a total value of $576,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 166,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,675,591.68. This represents a 6.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 55,000 shares of company stock worth $2,792,400. 7.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $28,000. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. purchased a new position in Akero Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Akero Therapeutics by 189.7% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 675 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 261.2% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 809 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $40,000.

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.