Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Trading Down 6.3% – Here’s Why

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) shares traded down 6.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $43.16 and last traded at $42.38. 56,274 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 804,962 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.24.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on AKRO. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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. UBS Group lifted their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their price objective on shares of 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.29.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Down 6.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 17.25, a current ratio of 17.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a PE ratio of -11.33 and a beta of -0.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $44.85 and a 200 day moving average of $34.78.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.99) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.98) by ($0.01). On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jonathan Young sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.03, for a total transaction of $280,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 218,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,112,866.49. This represents a 4.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.90, for a total value of $1,647,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 716,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,311,803.80. The trade was a 4.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 252,135 shares of company stock worth $12,345,079 in the last ninety days. 7.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AKRO. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 54.4% in the 3rd 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 boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 201,225 shares in the last quarter. RTW Investments LP grew its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 15.9% during 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. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,321,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,238,000 after acquiring an additional 513,613 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,704,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,057,000 after purchasing an additional 27,830 shares in the last quarter.

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.