Jennison Associates LLC Invests $533,000 in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 13,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $533,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AKRO. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 385.4% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,116 shares of the company's stock worth $1,421,000 after acquiring an additional 27,881 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth $281,000. Xponance Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $225,000. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 3.3% in the first quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 58,305 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,865 shares during the period. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 7.9% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 15,970 shares of the company's stock valued at $646,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170 shares during the period.

Insider Activity at Akero Therapeutics

In other Akero Therapeutics news, insider Catriona Yale sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.30, for a total transaction of $393,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 95,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,734,836.20. This trade represents a 9.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 37,837 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,078,122.35. This represents a 6.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 235,906 shares of company stock valued at $11,862,790. 7.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of Akero Therapeutics stock traded up $0.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $50.56. 561,893 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,073,438. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.34 and a fifty-two week high of $58.40. The company has a quick ratio of 16.80, a current ratio of 16.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $51.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.93 and a beta of -0.15.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.01) by $1.91. On average, equities analysts expect that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AKRO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America lifted their price target 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. Citigroup reduced 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $82.50.

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.