Akero Therapeutics, Inc. $AKRO Shares Purchased by Aberdeen Group plc

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc boosted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 50.8% in Q1, owning over 406,700 shares valued at approximately $16.46 million.
• Analysts have been optimistic about Akero Therapeutics, with multiple brokerages setting price targets above the current stock price, resulting in a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Insider trades have seen significant activity, with COO Jonathan Young and another insider recently selling a total of 25,000 shares combined in the past month.

Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) by 50.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 406,700 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 136,918 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.51% of Akero Therapeutics worth $16,463,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. RTW Investments LP boosted its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 6,859,823 shares of the company's stock worth $190,840,000 after purchasing an additional 940,388 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,321,972 shares of the company's stock worth $120,238,000 after purchasing an additional 513,613 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,230,644 shares of the company's stock worth $171,256,000 after purchasing an additional 526,233 shares in the last quarter. Deep Track Capital LP boosted its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 116.0% in the 4th quarter. Deep Track Capital LP now owns 1,490,000 shares of the company's stock worth $41,452,000 after purchasing an additional 800,216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $46,786,000 after purchasing an additional 557,794 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Timothy Rolph sold 25,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.04, for a total transaction of $1,376,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 169,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,341,443.84. The trade was a 12.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Catriona Yale sold 10,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.23, for a total transaction of $542,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 92,231 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,001,687.13. This trade represents a 9.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 226,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,813,920 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 7.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AKRO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, August 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $76.00 price target for the company. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, August 4th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Akero Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.57.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AKRO traded up $0.94 during trading on Friday, hitting $49.23. 802,546 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,075,924. The company has a quick ratio of 12.66, a current ratio of 12.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.62 and a beta of -0.28. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $51.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.97. 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 posted its earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.86) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.97) by $0.11. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.81) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 EPS for the current year.

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.