Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Given New $75.00 Price Target at HC Wainwright

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) had its price target raised by analysts at HC Wainwright from $72.00 to $75.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. HC Wainwright’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 52.69% from the company’s current price.

AKRO has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Akero Therapeutics from $46.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup increased 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. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America raised shares of Akero Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.29.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of Akero Therapeutics stock opened at $49.12 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 17.25, a current ratio of 17.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $38.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.63. Akero Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $17.86 and a 52 week high of $58.40. The company has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of -13.10 and a beta of -0.11.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.99) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.98) by ($0.01). As a group, analysts expect that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akero Therapeutics

In other Akero Therapeutics news, COO Jonathan Young sold 2,503 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 $77,067.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 203,783 shares in the company, valued at $6,274,478.57. This trade represents a 1.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Patrick Lamy sold 5,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $285,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 33,492 shares in the company, valued at $1,910,048.76. This represents a 12.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 173,992 shares of company stock worth $8,509,863 over the last quarter. Insiders own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Akero Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Akero Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 764.3% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,582 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position 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 last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $83,000. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Akero Therapeutics by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $197,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during 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.