7,221 Shares in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. $AKRO Acquired by HighTower Advisors LLC

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 bought a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 7,221 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $292,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. increased its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 21.9% in the first quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 1,787 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 14.5% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,664 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 30.8% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,658 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 19.0% in the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,570 shares of the company's stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 7,886 shares of the company's stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on AKRO shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, August 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $76.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Akero Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Cowen started coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, August 4th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $81.57.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AKRO opened at $45.44 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 12.66 and a quick ratio of 12.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $50.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.82. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.34 and a 1-year high of $58.40. The company has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a PE ratio of -22.72 and a beta of -0.24.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Patrick Lamy sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.88, for a total transaction of $105,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 29,891 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,580,636.08. This trade represents a 6.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.59, for a total value of $1,457,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 490,757 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,845,882.63. The trade was a 5.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 222,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,612,680. 7.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Akero Therapeutics

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.

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