G. Walmsley Graham Purchases 200,000 Shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Stock

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Director G. Walmsley Graham purchased 200,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $48.00 per share, with a total value of $9,600,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,000,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,000,000. This trade represents a 25.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of AKRO opened at $54.21 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.85. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.84 and a 52 week high of $58.40. The stock has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.46 and a beta of -0.11.

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 the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by ($0.15). On average, analysts expect that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $46.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on Akero Therapeutics from $50.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Akero Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $35.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Akero Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $75.86.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 54.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,896,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,554,000 after buying an additional 2,782,029 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Akero Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at about $37,392,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position 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. RTW Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 9.0% in the third quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 5,919,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,829,000 after acquiring an additional 487,450 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 2.9% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,077,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,053,000 after purchasing an additional 201,225 shares in the last quarter.

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.