16,473 Shares in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. $AKRO Acquired by FORA Capital LLC

Key Points

• FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Akero Therapeutics, purchasing 16,473 shares valued at approximately $667,000 in the first quarter of 2023.
• Insiders at Akero Therapeutics have recently sold a total of 226,406 shares, with notable transactions including the CEO selling 30,000 shares for over $1.45 million.
• Analysts have boosted their ratings for Akero Therapeutics, with a consensus average price target of $81.57 and several firms setting buy ratings.

FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 16,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $667,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Corebridge Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 36,523 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 2,817 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 43,498 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,761,000 after purchasing an additional 1,933 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 9,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,817,091 shares of the company's stock valued at $194,997,000 after purchasing an additional 495,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 8,647 shares of the company's stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 761 shares in the last quarter.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of AKRO opened at $45.44 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $50.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.72 and a beta of -0.24. 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 announced its earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.86) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.97) by $0.11. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.81) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Akero Therapeutics news, insider Catriona Yale sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.23, for a total value of $542,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 92,231 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,001,687.13. The trade was a 9.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jonathan Young sold 12,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.79, for a total value of $597,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 197,484 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,437,760.36. This represents a 5.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 222,406 shares of company stock worth $11,612,680 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AKRO shares. Bank of America upped their target price on 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 raised Akero Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Cowen assumed coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a report on Monday, August 4th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a report on Monday, August 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average 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.