D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Has $996,000 Stake in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lowered its stake in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) by 71.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,809 shares of the company's stock after selling 89,573 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned about 0.05% of Akero Therapeutics worth $996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AKRO. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 764.3% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Akero Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $83,000. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,092 shares of the company's stock worth $197,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 7,886 shares of the company's stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 32,588.0% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 8,172 shares of the company's stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 8,147 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AKRO shares. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a report on Sunday, March 2nd. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $82.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Patrick Lamy sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.09, for a total value of $48,090.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 33,492 shares in the company, valued at $1,610,630.28. This represents a 2.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director G. Walmsley Graham bought 91,309 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $44.75 per share, for a total transaction of $4,086,077.75. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,091,309 shares in the company, valued at $48,836,077.75. This trade represents a 9.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 223,208 shares of company stock worth $9,313,294. Company insiders own 7.94% of the company's stock.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ AKRO traded up $2.06 on Thursday, reaching $47.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 704,316 shares, compared to its average volume of 963,253. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.86 and a twelve month high of $58.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 17.25 and a current ratio of 17.25. The stock has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a PE ratio of -12.64 and a beta of -0.12. The firm's 50 day moving average is $41.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.50.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.01) by $1.91. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 EPS for the current 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.