E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Purchases New Position in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. $AKRO

Key Points

• E Fund Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake of 6,924 shares in Akero Therapeutics, valued at approximately $280,000, during the first quarter.
• Multiple institutional investors, including GF Fund Management and Mirae Asset Global Investments, have increased their stakes in Akero, demonstrating growing confidence in the company.
• Akero Therapeutics reported an EPS of ($0.86) for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations by $0.11, with a predicted EPS of ($3.99) for the current fiscal year.

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 6,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $280,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AKRO. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 61,867 shares of the company's stock worth $1,721,000 after buying an additional 7,587 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 98,463 shares of the company's stock worth $2,739,000 after buying an additional 21,086 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $579,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 764.3% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 1,582 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,092 shares of the company's stock worth $197,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Akero Therapeutics stock traded up $0.35 on Wednesday, hitting $47.95. The company had a trading volume of 808,238 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,091,042. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.84 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.98 and a beta of -0.28. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.34 and a twelve month high of $58.40. 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 50-day moving average of $51.59 and a 200-day moving average of $47.19.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 last year, the firm posted ($0.81) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akero Therapeutics

In other Akero Therapeutics news, COO Jonathan Young sold 12,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.79, for a total value of $597,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 197,484 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,437,760.36. This trade represents a 5.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 37,837 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.05, for a total transaction of $2,045,089.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 556,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,078,122.35. This represents a 6.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 230,406 shares of company stock valued at $12,013,920 in the last three months. 7.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.