Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Director G. Walmsley Graham Buys 91,309 Shares

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Director G. Walmsley Graham bought 91,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $44.75 per share, for a total transaction of $4,086,077.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,091,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,836,077.75. This represents a 9.13 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

G. Walmsley Graham also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, March 27th, G. Walmsley Graham bought 50,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $43.55 per share, with a total value of $2,177,500.00.
• On Thursday, January 30th, G. Walmsley Graham purchased 200,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The stock was acquired at an average price of $48.00 per share, for a total transaction of $9,600,000.00.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of Akero Therapeutics stock opened at $42.72 on Friday. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.86 and a 52 week high of $58.40. The company has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of -11.39 and a beta of -0.19. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $46.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.02. The company has a quick ratio of 17.25, a current ratio of 17.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.99) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.98) by ($0.01). As a group, analysts expect that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. abrdn plc grew its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 118.7% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 269,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,505,000 after purchasing an additional 146,424 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 732.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 30,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $870,000 after buying an additional 26,691 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 540,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,042,000 after buying an additional 8,096 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $320,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 4,022.1% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 597,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,636,000 after acquiring an additional 583,486 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AKRO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America raised shares of Akero Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $76.29.

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.