Strs Ohio Acquires New Position in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. $AKRO

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has acquired a total of 12,600 shares of Akero Therapeutics, valued at approximately $510,000, marking the firm’s new position in the company.
• Multiple institutional investors have increased their stakes in Akero, with Price T Rowe Associates boosting its stake by 11.5%, and Vanguard Group increasing by 14.2% in the first quarter.
• Analysts maintain a Buy rating on Akero Therapeutics, with a consensus target price of $81.14, though Wall Street Zen recently downgraded the stock from a "hold" to a "sell" rating.

Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 12,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $510,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew 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 buying an additional 495,119 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 14.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,230,644 shares of the company's stock valued at $171,256,000 after acquiring an additional 526,233 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 93.3% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,155,787 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,786,000 after acquiring an additional 557,794 shares in the last quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 1.4% in the first quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 729,504 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,530,000 after acquiring an additional 9,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 5.9% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 656,733 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,585,000 after acquiring an additional 36,412 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akero Therapeutics

In other news, insider Timothy Rolph sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.17, for a total transaction of $552,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 167,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,381,867.08. This represents a 6.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Catriona Yale sold 659 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.02, for a total transaction of $28,350.18. Following the sale, the insider owned 90,829 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,907,463.58. This trade represents a 0.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 168,753 shares of company stock valued at $8,088,599. Corporate insiders own 7.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AKRO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Akero Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. HC Wainwright started coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, September 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen started coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a report on Monday, August 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. Cowen started coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a report on Monday, August 4th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Akero Therapeutics currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $81.14.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of AKRO stock traded up $1.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $46.41. 867,441 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,134,169. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $48.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.45. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.34 and a 12-month high of $58.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 12.66 and a current ratio of 12.66.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.86) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.97) by $0.11. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.81) EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.