Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Stock

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) had its target price lifted by Citigroup from $65.00 to $80.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Separately, HC Wainwright increased their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $50.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Akero Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.57.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

Akero Therapeutics stock opened at $51.47 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.73 and a beta of -0.19. The business’s fifty day moving average is $28.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.33. Akero Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $15.32 and a 52 week high of $58.40.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Patrick Lamy sold 925 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.79, for a total transaction of $28,480.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $549,847.82. This trade represents a 4.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO William Richard White sold 2,817 shares of the 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 $86,735.43. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,180,334.65. This trade represents a 6.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 257,620 shares of company stock worth $8,076,127. 7.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 1,446 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 13.8% during the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 16,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 2,049 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 12.4% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $574,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LMR Partners LLP lifted its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 17.0% in the third quarter. LMR Partners LLP now owns 20,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $591,000 after buying an additional 2,997 shares during the last quarter.

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.