HighTower Advisors LLC Makes New $292,000 Investment in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. $AKRO

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC has acquired 7,221 shares of Akero Therapeutics, valued at approximately $292,000, as revealed in a recent SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors, including GF Fund Management and PNC Financial Services, have increased their stakes in Akero Therapeutics during the first quarter of the year.
• Analysts generally rate Akero Therapeutics as a "buy," with an average price target of $81.57, though Citigroup has recently lowered its price target from $80 to $78.

HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 7,221 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $292,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AKRO. RTW Investments LP grew its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 6,859,823 shares of the company's stock valued at $190,840,000 after purchasing an additional 940,388 shares in the last quarter. Deep Track Capital LP boosted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 116.0% during the 4th quarter. Deep Track Capital LP now owns 1,490,000 shares of the company's stock worth $41,452,000 after acquiring an additional 800,216 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Akero Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $18,059,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 93.3% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,155,787 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,786,000 after purchasing an additional 557,794 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 14.2% in the 1st 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.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of AKRO traded up $0.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $44.72. The stock had a trading volume of 2,341,203 shares, compared to its average volume of 883,352. The firm has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.36 and a beta of -0.24. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $49.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 12.66 and a quick ratio of 12.66. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.34 and a 52 week high of $58.40.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Cowen started coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a report on Monday, August 4th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. TD Cowen began coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a report on Monday, August 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Akero Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, HC Wainwright started coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday. They set a "buy" rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $81.14.

Insider Activity

In other Akero Therapeutics news, insider Timothy Rolph sold 12,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.09, for a total value of $638,625.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 167,124 shares in the company, valued at $8,538,365.16. This represents a 6.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jonathan Young sold 12,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.79, for a total value of $597,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 197,484 shares in the company, valued at $9,437,760.36. This represents a 5.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 197,406 shares of company stock valued at $10,144,055 over the last ninety days. 7.07% of the stock is owned by 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.