Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Position Trimmed by Wellington Management Group LLP

Wellington Management Group LLP trimmed its stake in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,376,961 shares of the company’s stock after selling 519,671 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 9.27% of Akero Therapeutics worth $205,227,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 32,588.0% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 8,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 8,147 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $265,000. Sei Investments Co. bought a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $303,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Akero Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $306,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Akero Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $308,000.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:AKRO opened at $41.95 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 17.25 and a quick ratio of 17.25. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $17.86 and a one year high of $58.40. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $46.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.38. The stock has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.19 and a beta of -0.19.

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 the consensus estimate of ($0.98) by ($0.01). Analysts anticipate that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.77, for a total value of $1,253,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 656,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,403,709.74. The trade was a 4.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director G. Walmsley Graham purchased 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $43.55 per share, with a total value of $2,177,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,200,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,260,000. This trade represents a 4.35 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 341,309 shares of company stock valued at $15,863,578 and sold 242,135 shares valued at $12,064,779. 7.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on AKRO shares. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup upped their price target on Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average 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.