Aquatic Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) by 463.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,041 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,841 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC's holdings in Akero Therapeutics were worth $502,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 764.3% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 8.5% in 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 in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 32,588.0% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 8,172 shares of the company's stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 8,147 shares during the period. Finally, Optimize Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $232,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Catriona Yale sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total transaction of $498,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,648 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,769,965.76. This represents a 9.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.73, for a total value of $1,581,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 686,062 shares of the company's stock, valued at $36,176,049.26. The trade was a 4.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 198,708 shares of company stock valued at $8,673,699. Insiders own 7.94% of the company's stock.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of AKRO traded up $0.68 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $42.70. 213,402 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 878,141. The company has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.31 and a beta of -0.12. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.86 and a twelve month high of $58.40. The business's 50-day moving average price is $41.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.24.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AKRO. HC Wainwright upped their price target on Akero Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Akero Therapeutics currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $76.29.

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.