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

Key Points

• Akero Therapeutics has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from analysts, with one sell rating, seven hold ratings, and five buy ratings from thirteen rating firms.
• The average price target for Akero Therapeutics shares is $73.38, while the stock is currently trading around $53.80.
• Recent insider activity includes significant share sales by COO Jonathan Young and CEO Andrew Cheng, both of whom reduced their holdings by approximately 5.97% and 5.39%, respectively.

Shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $73.3750.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research cut Akero Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Cowen assumed coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a report on Monday, August 4th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Akero Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered Akero Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered Akero Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th.

Insider Activity at Akero Therapeutics

In other news, COO Jonathan Young sold 12,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.76, for a total value of $597,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 196,898 shares in the company, valued at $9,403,848.48. This represents a 5.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.98, for a total value of $1,619,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 526,114 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,399,633.72. This trade represents a 5.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 169,253 shares of company stock worth $8,072,314 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 7.07% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AKRO. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $57,396,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 406.7% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,320,461 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,460,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059,860 shares during the last quarter. Bellevue Group AG lifted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 58.7% in the second quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 1,985,272 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,934,000 after acquiring an additional 734,606 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in Akero Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $21,333,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 14.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,230,644 shares of the company's stock valued at $171,256,000 after acquiring an additional 526,233 shares during the last quarter.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of Akero Therapeutics stock opened at $53.80 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a PE ratio of -26.90 and a beta of -0.29. Akero Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $21.34 and a twelve month high of $58.40. The company has a quick ratio of 12.66, a current ratio of 12.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $47.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.44.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.86) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.97) by $0.11. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.81) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.

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