Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust Lowers Holdings in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust trimmed its position in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) by 15.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 352,180 shares of the company's stock after selling 63,021 shares during the quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust owned about 0.50% of Akero Therapeutics worth $9,798,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 764.3% in 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 last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $83,000. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,092 shares of the company's stock worth $197,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake 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 worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 8,147 shares during the last quarter.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AKRO traded down $0.30 during trading on Thursday, reaching $45.31. The stock had a trading volume of 1,415,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 875,505. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $41.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.93. The stock has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a PE ratio of -12.08 and a beta of -0.18. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.86 and a 1-year high of $58.40.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Akero Therapeutics news, CFO William Richard White sold 676 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total transaction of $30,338.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 61,959 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,780,719.92. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.23, for a total transaction of $1,056,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 624,324 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,994,934.52. The trade was a 4.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 227,458 shares of company stock valued at $10,271,361 over the last 90 days. 7.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AKRO shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. HC Wainwright raised their target price 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 reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a report on Sunday, March 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.29.

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.