Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Shares Sold by Emerald Advisers LLC

Emerald Advisers LLC lowered its stake in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 520,114 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,313 shares during the quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC owned about 0.75% of Akero Therapeutics worth $14,470,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 54.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,896,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,554,000 after purchasing an additional 2,782,029 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 2.9% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,077,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,053,000 after purchasing an additional 201,225 shares during the last quarter. RTW Investments LP boosted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 9.0% in the third quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 5,919,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,829,000 after purchasing an additional 487,450 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,704,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,057,000 after purchasing an additional 27,830 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Akero Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $37,392,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.90, for a total value of $1,647,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 716,062 shares in the company, valued at $39,311,803.80. This trade represents a 4.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Catriona Yale sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total value of $498,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 95,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,769,965.76. This represents a 9.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 252,135 shares of company stock valued at $12,345,079. Insiders own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ AKRO opened at $45.22 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.06 and a beta of -0.19. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.86 and a 12-month high of $58.40. The company has a current ratio of 17.25, a quick ratio of 17.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.46.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AKRO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. HC Wainwright increased their price target on Akero Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group increased their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a report on Sunday, March 2nd. Citigroup increased their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Bank of America raised Akero Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $63.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $76.29.

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.