649,134 Shares in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Bought by Balyasny Asset Management L.P.

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 649,134 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,059,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned approximately 0.93% of Akero Therapeutics as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AKRO. 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 worth $7,505,000 after purchasing an additional 146,424 shares during the last quarter. Rock Springs Capital Management LP increased its position in Akero Therapeutics by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Rock Springs Capital Management LP now owns 946,499 shares of the company's stock worth $26,332,000 after buying an additional 13,100 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. bought a new position in Akero Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $303,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 540,692 shares of the company's stock worth $15,042,000 after buying an additional 8,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 61,867 shares of the company's stock worth $1,721,000 after acquiring an additional 7,587 shares in the last quarter.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Down 6.0 %

AKRO traded down $2.54 during trading on Friday, reaching $39.85. 1,332,231 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 891,466. The company's fifty day moving average price is $41.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 17.25 and a current ratio of 17.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a PE ratio of -10.63 and a beta of -0.12. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.86 and a fifty-two week high of $58.40.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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). As a group, equities analysts forecast that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AKRO shares. Bank of America upgraded Akero Therapeutics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $63.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Sunday, March 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.29.

Insider Transactions at Akero Therapeutics

In other Akero Therapeutics news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 686,062 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,176,049.26. The trade was a 4.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director G. Walmsley Graham acquired 91,309 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $44.75 per share, for a total transaction of $4,086,077.75. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,091,309 shares in the company, valued at $48,836,077.75. This represents a 9.13 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 219,208 shares of company stock valued at $9,556,494 over the last three months. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.