Exome Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. $AKRO

Key Points

• Exome Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Akero Therapeutics, acquiring an additional 7,771 shares, which represents an 11.3% increase in holdings during the first quarter and positions the stock as its 12th largest holding.
• Akero Therapeutics reported a loss of ($0.86) earnings per share for the last quarter, better than the consensus estimate of ($0.97), highlighting a slight improvement from the previous year's losses.
• Analysts have a generally positive outlook on Akero Therapeutics, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and a target price of $81.14, as several firms have upgraded their ratings recently.

Exome Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) by 11.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 76,379 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,771 shares during the quarter. Akero Therapeutics accounts for 2.6% of Exome Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Exome Asset Management LLC owned 0.10% of Akero Therapeutics worth $3,092,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tema Etfs LLC acquired a new stake in Akero Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $894,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Akero Therapeutics during the first quarter worth $10,404,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in Akero Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $840,000. RTW Investments LP increased 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. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $422,000.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ AKRO traded down $1.47 on Friday, hitting $43.46. The stock had a trading volume of 1,309,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 842,811. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.34 and a 52-week 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. The company has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.73 and a beta of -0.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $48.82 and a 200-day moving average of $46.51.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.81) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AKRO has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a report on Monday, August 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $76.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright assumed coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Akero Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a report on Monday, August 4th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO William Richard White sold 659 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.02, for a total transaction of $28,350.18. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 57,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,484,491.04. This trade represents a 1.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Timothy Rolph sold 12,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.17, for a total transaction of $552,125.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 167,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,381,867.08. This trade represents a 6.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 194,945 shares of company stock worth $9,517,250. Corporate insiders own 7.07% of the company's stock.

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.