Andrew Cheng Sells 30,000 Shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Stock

Key Points

• CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics at an average price of $48.59, totaling approximately $1.46 million, reducing his ownership by 5.76%.
• Akero Therapeutics reported a quarterly loss of ($0.86) EPS, surpassing analysts' expectations of ($0.97) by $0.11.
• Despite recent trades, Akero Therapeutics has a consensus rating of "Buy" among analysts, with an average price target of $81.57.

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.59, for a total value of $1,457,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 490,757 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,845,882.63. The trade was a 5.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Andrew Cheng also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, July 10th, Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.16, for a total value of $1,534,800.00.
• On Wednesday, June 18th, Andrew Cheng sold 6,620 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.84, for a total transaction of $363,040.80.
• On Tuesday, June 10th, Andrew Cheng sold 37,837 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.05, for a total transaction of $2,045,089.85.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of AKRO stock traded down $0.67 during trading on Monday, reaching $48.72. The company had a trading volume of 111,257 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,419,420. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $51.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.22. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $21.34 and a one year high of $58.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 12.66 and a quick ratio of 12.66. The company has a market capitalization of $3.90 billion, a PE ratio of -24.36 and a beta of -0.28.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.81) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AKRO. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Akero Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. TD Cowen began coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, August 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $76.00 price target for the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on Akero Therapeutics from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Cowen began coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, August 4th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Akero Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.57.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. RTW Investments LP grew its position in Akero Therapeutics by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 6,859,823 shares of the company's stock worth $190,840,000 after buying an additional 940,388 shares in the last quarter. General Atlantic L.P. increased its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 9.6% during the second quarter. General Atlantic L.P. now owns 5,733,989 shares of the company's stock valued at $305,966,000 after purchasing an additional 500,000 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 11.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,817,091 shares of the company's stock valued at $194,997,000 after purchasing an additional 495,119 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 14.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,230,644 shares of the company's stock worth $171,256,000 after purchasing an additional 526,233 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 10.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,745,564 shares of the company's stock worth $146,503,000 after buying an additional 250,821 shares in the last quarter.

About Akero Therapeutics

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.