Alkeon Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Alkeon Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) by 47.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,761,268 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,563,736 shares during the quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC owned 2.52% of Akero Therapeutics worth $48,998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquired a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $83,000. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,092 shares of the company's stock valued at $197,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 7,886 shares of the company's stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 621 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 32,588.0% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 8,172 shares of the company's stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 8,147 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

AKRO stock traded up $1.11 during trading on Thursday, reaching $43.90. 451,431 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 881,854. The company has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.71 and a beta of -0.12. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.86 and a twelve month high of $58.40. The company has a 50-day moving average of $41.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 17.25 and a quick ratio of 17.25.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Akero Therapeutics

In other Akero Therapeutics news, COO Jonathan Young sold 607 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $27,242.16. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 200,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,000,235.20. This trade represents a 0.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.73, for a total transaction of $1,581,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 686,062 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,176,049.26. This represents a 4.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 198,708 shares of company stock worth $8,673,699. 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.