Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Stock Price Up 4.8% on Analyst Upgrade

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) shares were up 4.8% on Wednesday after Bank of America upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a buy rating. Bank of America now has a $63.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $35.00. Akero Therapeutics traded as high as $55.74 and last traded at $53.96. Approximately 2,331,912 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 11% from the average daily volume of 2,092,562 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.47.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on AKRO. 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 note on Tuesday. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $50.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $46.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Akero Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $66.29.

Insider Activity at Akero Therapeutics

In related news, VP Patrick Lamy sold 5,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $285,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 33,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,910,048.76. This trade represents a 12.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Catriona Yale sold 9,061 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.73, for a total value of $251,261.53. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 74,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,056,401.34. This represents a 10.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 149,303 shares of company stock worth $6,206,412 over the last quarter. Insiders own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AKRO. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Akero Therapeutics by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 105,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,940,000 after buying an additional 1,310 shares during the period. abrdn plc boosted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 118.7% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 269,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,505,000 after acquiring an additional 146,424 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 1,446 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 4,022.1% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 597,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,636,000 after purchasing an additional 583,486 shares during the period. Finally, Exome Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Akero Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $2,212,000.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a PE ratio of -14.76 and a beta of -0.19. 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 50-day moving average price of $29.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.69.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($1.05) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by ($0.15). Equities analysts forecast that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.96 EPS for the current fiscal 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.