Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Short Interest Down 19.1% in October

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,820,000 shares, a decrease of 19.1% from the October 15th total of 4,720,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 512,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.20.

Insider Transactions at Akero Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 1,738 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.18, for a total value of $45,500.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 605,417 shares in the company, valued at $15,849,817.06. This represents a 0.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO William Richard White sold 75,159 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total value of $2,045,076.39. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 41,791 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,137,133.11. The trade was a 64.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 428,397 shares of company stock valued at $12,997,971. Company insiders own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 54.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,896,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,554,000 after buying an additional 2,782,029 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 42.2% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,121,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $154,589,000 after acquiring an additional 1,815,569 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,392,000. Redmile Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 67.5% in the first quarter. Redmile Group LLC now owns 1,858,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,951,000 after purchasing an additional 749,226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 19.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,669,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,702,000 after purchasing an additional 584,875 shares during the period.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Down 5.6 %

Shares of AKRO opened at $28.09 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $29.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.63. The company has a current ratio of 17.25, a quick ratio of 24.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.49 and a beta of -0.26. Akero Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $13.86 and a 1-year high of $37.00.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($1.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by ($0.15). Analysts expect that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.94 earnings per share for the current year.

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.