Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Upgraded at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Bank of America currently has $63.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $35.00.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on AKRO. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. HC Wainwright increased their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $50.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $46.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $75.86.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of AKRO opened at $54.08 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $30.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.06. 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 has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.42 and a beta of -0.19. Akero Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $15.32 and a 1 year high of $58.40.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($1.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.90) by ($0.15). On average, equities analysts predict that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Akero Therapeutics news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.09, for a total transaction of $802,250.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 605,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,427,831.53. This represents a 3.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Patrick Lamy sold 925 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.79, for a total value of $28,480.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $549,847.82. This trade represents a 4.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 149,303 shares of company stock valued at $6,206,412. Company insiders own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Akero Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Akero Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth about $100,000. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Akero Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $205,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $211,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $265,000.

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.