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) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 13,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $533,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 764.3% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,582 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $83,000. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 19.0% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,570 shares of the company's stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Akero Therapeutics by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,664 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Akero Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 37,837 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.05, for a total value of $2,045,089.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 556,487 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,078,122.35. The trade was a 6.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Catriona Yale sold 10,000 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 95,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,734,836.20. The trade was a 9.52% 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 NASDAQ AKRO 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. The company has a market cap of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.93 and a beta of -0.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 16.80 and a quick ratio of 16.80. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.34 and a 1 year high of $58.40. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $51.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.16.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.01) by $1.91. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AKRO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Bank of America lifted their price objective 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $82.50.

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.