Alkeon Capital Management LLC Sells 1,563,736 Shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Alkeon Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) by 47.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,761,268 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,563,736 shares during the period. Alkeon Capital Management LLC owned 2.52% of Akero Therapeutics worth $48,998,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AKRO. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 764.3% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 1,582 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $83,000. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,092 shares of the company's stock valued at $197,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 7,886 shares of the company's stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 621 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 32,588.0% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 8,172 shares of the company's stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 8,147 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AKRO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Sunday, March 2nd. Bank of America raised shares of Akero Therapeutics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $63.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $76.29.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of AKRO opened at $44.87 on Friday. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.86 and a 1 year high of $58.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 17.25 and a quick ratio of 17.25. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.03. The firm has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.97 and a beta of -0.18.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.99) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.98) by ($0.01). On average, analysts forecast that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Akero Therapeutics

In other Akero Therapeutics news, Director G. Walmsley Graham acquired 91,309 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $44.75 per share, with a total value of $4,086,077.75. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,091,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,836,077.75. The trade was a 9.13 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Jonathan Young sold 607 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $27,242.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 200,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,000,235.20. This represents a 0.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 227,458 shares of company stock worth $10,271,361. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Akero Therapeutics 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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