Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Trading Volume Surge: Akero Therapeutics experienced a 61% increase in trading volume, with approximately 2.47 million shares changing hands on Friday, indicating heightened investor interest.
• Analyst Ratings Update: Analysts have mixed views on Akero's stock; Wall Street Zen upgraded it to "hold" while other firms like Jefferies downgraded it to "hold" with a lowered price target of $56.00.
• Earnings Performance: The company reported a quarterly EPS of ($0.86), beating analysts' estimates by $0.11, although it represents a decline compared to previous year's EPS of ($0.81).

Shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday . Approximately 2,472,266 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 61% from the previous session's volume of 1,537,036 shares.The stock last traded at $54.02 and had previously closed at $54.08.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AKRO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Akero Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday. HC Wainwright reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $54.00 price objective (down from $72.00) on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group cut Akero Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $56.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, August 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $76.00 price objective on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Akero Therapeutics has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $73.38.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.97 and a beta of -0.29. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $47.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.72. The company has a quick ratio of 12.66, a current ratio of 12.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.81) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Akero Therapeutics

In other Akero Therapeutics news, COO Jonathan Young sold 12,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.76, for a total transaction of $597,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Catriona Yale sold 659 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.02, for a total value of $28,350.18. Following the sale, the insider owned 90,829 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,907,463.58. This represents a 0.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 149,253 shares of company stock valued at $6,982,414 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 7.07% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Akero Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at $10,404,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 212,665 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,609,000 after purchasing an additional 12,235 shares during the last quarter. Allostery Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at $729,000. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 54.4% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 58,522 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,369,000 after purchasing an additional 20,620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 19.0% during the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,570 shares of the company's stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter.

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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