Informed Momentum Co LLC Acquires New Shares in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Key Points

• Informed Momentum Co LLC acquired a new stake in Akero Therapeutics, purchasing 66,422 shares valued at approximately $2.69 million, representing about 0.08% of the company.
• Akero Therapeutics has a market capitalization of $3.84 billion and reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of ($0.86), beating analysts' estimates.
• Several analysts have issued a "buy" rating for Akero Therapeutics, with a consensus target price of $81.57 based on multiple recent price adjustments.

Informed Momentum Co LLC purchased a new position in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 66,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,689,000. Informed Momentum Co LLC owned 0.08% of Akero Therapeutics at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AKRO. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 764.3% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 30.8% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,658 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Akero Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $83,000. Finally, Amalgamated Bank boosted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 19.0% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,570 shares of the company's stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Akero Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.59, for a total value of $1,457,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 490,757 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,845,882.63. The trade was a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Patrick Lamy sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.88, for a total value of $105,760.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 29,891 shares in the company, valued at $1,580,636.08. This trade represents a 6.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 230,406 shares of company stock valued at $12,013,920. Insiders own 7.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AKRO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cowen initiated coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, August 4th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, August 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $76.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised Akero Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Akero Therapeutics from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.57.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

AKRO stock traded down $0.71 during trading on Friday, hitting $49.38. 2,185,733 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,042,788. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $51.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 12.66 and a quick ratio of 16.80. The company has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a PE ratio of -24.69 and a beta of -0.28. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.34 and a 1 year high of $58.40.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.86) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.97) by $0.11. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.81) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.