Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $1.91 EPS

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.01) by $1.91, Zacks reports.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Down 3.7%

Shares of AKRO opened at $40.01 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.67 and a beta of -0.12. 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 has a one year low of $17.86 and a one year high of $58.40. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.66.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AKRO. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. Bank of America raised Akero Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $63.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $76.00.

Insider Transactions at Akero Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.23, for a total value of $1,056,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 624,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,994,934.52. The trade was a 4.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Catriona Yale sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total value of $498,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,648 shares in the company, valued at $4,769,965.76. The trade was a 9.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 219,208 shares of company stock valued at $9,218,994 in the last three months. 7.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.