Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" from Analysts

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.

Shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Buy" from the eight brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $81.5714.

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

Insider Activity at Akero Therapeutics

In other news, insider Catriona Yale sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.95, for a total transaction of $529,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 91,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,844,289.60. This trade represents a 9.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Patrick Lamy sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.88, for a total value of $105,760.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 29,891 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,580,636.08. This trade represents a 6.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 222,406 shares of company stock worth $11,612,680. 7.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AKRO. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 6,229.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 449,110 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,495,000 after acquiring an additional 442,014 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 7,886 shares of the company's stock valued at $220,000 after acquiring an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $233,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 29.0% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 124,592 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,466,000 after acquiring an additional 28,043 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 620,321 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,257,000 after acquiring an additional 35,737 shares in the last quarter.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:AKRO traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $45.62. The company had a trading volume of 905,913 shares, compared to its average volume of 934,066. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.81. The firm has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.81 and a beta of -0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 12.66 and a current ratio of 12.66. Akero Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $21.34 and a 1-year high of $58.40.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.86) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.97) by $0.11. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.81) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.99 earnings per share 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.