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

Key Points

• Akero Therapeutics has received a consensus rating of "Buy" from eight analysts, along with an average 12-month price target of $81.57.
• Insider trading activity includes a significant sale by Catriona Yale, who sold 10,000 shares, lowering her position by almost 10%.
• Akero reported an earnings per share of ($0.86) for the latest quarter, surpassing analyst estimates by $0.11.

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Buy" by the eight ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $81.5714.

Several research firms have weighed in on AKRO. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Cowen began coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, August 4th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, August 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $76.00 price objective on the stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Catriona Yale sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.30, for a total transaction of $393,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 95,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,734,836.20. This trade represents a 9.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Timothy Rolph sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.04, for a total transaction of $1,376,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 169,721 shares in the company, valued at $9,341,443.84. This represents a 12.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 197,906 shares of company stock worth $10,351,845. 7.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AKRO. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 106,400 shares of the company's stock worth $5,678,000 after buying an additional 11,700 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 21.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 188,409 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,054,000 after buying an additional 33,365 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. acquired a new position in Akero Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $71,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 12,228 shares of the company's stock valued at $652,000 after buying an additional 792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning grew its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 137.2% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 44,333 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,366,000 after buying an additional 25,643 shares during the last quarter.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:AKRO traded down $0.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $47.29. The stock had a trading volume of 161,830 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,423,860. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 16.80 and a current ratio of 16.80. The company has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a PE ratio of -23.62 and a beta of -0.28. Akero Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $21.34 and a 12-month high of $58.40. The company's 50 day moving average is $52.29 and its 200-day moving average is $47.33.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.86) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.97) by $0.11. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.81) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.99 EPS for the current year.

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.