Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Receives Average Rating of "Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts have given Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) an average rating of "Buy", with a consensus target price of $81.57 among eight brokerages covering the firm.
• The company recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of ($0.86), exceeding analysts' expectations and indicating a slight improvement from the previous year.
• Insider trading activity included significant sales by executives, with CEO Andrew Cheng and insider Catriona Yale each reducing their stock ownership by over 6% recently.

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Buy" by the eight research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $81.1429.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AKRO. Citigroup reduced their price target on Akero Therapeutics from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. HC Wainwright started coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a report on Thursday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen started coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a report on Monday, August 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Akero Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Akero Therapeutics news, insider Timothy Rolph sold 12,500 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.09, for a total value of $638,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 167,124 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,538,365.16. The trade was a 6.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Jonathan Young sold 12,500 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.79, for a total value of $597,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 197,484 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,437,760.36. This represents a 5.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 197,406 shares of company stock valued at $10,144,055 over the last 90 days. 7.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 17.7% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,952 shares of the company's stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. lifted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 21.9% in the 1st quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 1,787 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,664 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 19.0% in the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,570 shares of the company's stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ AKRO traded up $0.69 on Tuesday, reaching $44.72. The stock had a trading volume of 2,341,203 shares, compared to its average volume of 819,256. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 12.66 and a quick ratio of 12.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $49.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.70. Akero Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $21.34 and a 1-year high of $58.40. The company has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.36 and a beta of -0.24.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.86) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.97) by $0.11. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.81) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.99 EPS for the current year.

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.