Intech Investment Management LLC Buys 20,795 Shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) by 121.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,902 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,795 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC owned 0.05% of Akero Therapeutics worth $1,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. RTW Investments LP increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $37,392,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 4,022.1% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 597,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,636,000 after acquiring an additional 583,486 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akero Therapeutics

In other Akero Therapeutics news, insider Timothy Rolph sold 31,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.77, for a total value of $1,742,812.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 170,237 shares in the company, valued at $9,494,117.49. The trade was a 15.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Patrick Lamy sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were 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 owns 33,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,910,048.76. The trade was a 12.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 252,135 shares of company stock worth $12,345,079 over the last three months. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Up 1.3 %

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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Sunday, March 2nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America raised shares of Akero Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Akero Therapeutics has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $76.29.

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.