Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Given New $80.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) had its target price hoisted by Citigroup from $65.00 to $80.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

Separately, HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $50.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.57.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of AKRO opened at $51.47 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $28.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.73 and a beta of -0.19. Akero Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $15.32 and a 1-year high of $58.40. The company has a current ratio of 17.25, a quick ratio of 17.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($1.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.90) by ($0.15). Analysts expect that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Akero Therapeutics news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 108,366 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.73, for a total value of $3,438,453.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 605,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,209,881.41. The trade was a 15.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Jonathan Young sold 10,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.03, for a total value of $280,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 257,620 shares of company stock worth $8,076,127. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. abrdn plc increased its position in Akero Therapeutics by 118.7% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 269,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,505,000 after buying an additional 146,424 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Akero Therapeutics by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 1,446 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 583,486 shares during the period. Exome Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Akero Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,212,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in Akero Therapeutics by 127.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 127,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,662,000 after buying an additional 71,652 shares during the period.

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.