Insider Selling: Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) CEO Sells $1,253,100.00 in Stock

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.77, for a total transaction of $1,253,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 656,062 shares in the company, valued at $27,403,709.74. This represents a 4.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Andrew Cheng also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, March 12th, Andrew Cheng sold 1,738 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $78,001.44.
• On Monday, February 10th, Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.73, for a total value of $1,581,900.00.
• On Monday, January 27th, Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.90, for a total value of $1,647,000.00.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

Akero Therapeutics stock opened at $44.15 on Friday. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.79. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.86 and a 12 month high of $58.40. The company has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.77 and a beta of -0.19.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last posted its quarterly 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). Sell-side analysts forecast that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $76.29.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 54.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,896,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,554,000 after buying an additional 2,782,029 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $37,392,000. RTW Investments LP boosted its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 6,859,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,840,000 after acquiring an additional 940,388 shares during the period. Deep Track Capital LP grew its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 116.0% in the fourth quarter. Deep Track Capital LP now owns 1,490,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,452,000 after purchasing an additional 800,216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $18,059,000.

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.