Aquatic Capital Management LLC Buys 14,841 Shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) by 463.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,041 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 14,841 shares during the quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC's holdings in Akero Therapeutics were worth $502,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 127.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 127,668 shares of the company's stock worth $3,662,000 after purchasing an additional 71,652 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 4,022.1% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 597,993 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,636,000 after buying an additional 583,486 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $412,000 after buying an additional 1,446 shares during the period. abrdn plc increased its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 118.7% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 269,782 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,505,000 after acquiring an additional 146,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 105,686 shares of the company's stock worth $2,940,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310 shares during the period.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Jonathan Young sold 10,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.81, for a total transaction of $538,100.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 251,147 shares in the company, valued at $13,514,220.07. The trade was a 3.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Timothy Rolph sold 6,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.03, for a total transaction of $256,437.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 169,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,963,652.63. This represents a 3.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 227,458 shares of company stock worth $10,271,361. 7.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

AKRO traded down $0.44 during trading on Friday, reaching $44.87. 1,212,166 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 879,941. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.86 and a 52 week high of $58.40. The company has a current ratio of 17.25, a quick ratio of 17.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $41.66 and a 200 day moving average of $37.07. The stock has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.97 and a beta of -0.12.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AKRO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a report on Sunday, March 2nd. Citigroup upped 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. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America raised 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus 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.