Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $46.00 to $96.00. The stock had previously closed at $51.71, but opened at $54.63. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Akero Therapeutics shares last traded at $55.10, with a volume of 920,635 shares traded.

Several other research analysts have also commented on AKRO. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $50.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Catriona Yale sold 15,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.62, for a total transaction of $505,120.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,419,033.96. The trade was a 17.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 108,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.73, for a total value of $3,438,453.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 605,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,209,881.41. This represents a 15.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 323,870 shares of company stock valued at $11,751,090 over the last three months. Company insiders own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $347,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $565,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 26.1% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 107,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,514,000 after purchasing an additional 22,195 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 12.4% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $574,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning bought a new position in Akero Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at $371,000.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Up 4.9 %

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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $29.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.51. The company has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.40 and a beta of -0.19.

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). As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.96 EPS for the current year.

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.