Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Invests $21.33 Million in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. $AKRO

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired 527,004 shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc., valued at approximately $21.3 million, representing about 0.66% of the company.
• Insiders, including CEO Andrew Cheng, sold a total of 230,406 shares valued at over $12 million in the last three months, decreasing their ownership percentage.
• Wall Street analysts have rated Akero Therapeutics with a consensus of "Moderate Buy" and set a price target averaging $81.57, indicating potential growth.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 527,004 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,333,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned 0.66% of Akero Therapeutics as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tema Etfs LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $894,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Akero Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at about $10,404,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Akero Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $840,000. RTW Investments LP boosted its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 6,859,823 shares of the company's stock valued at $190,840,000 after acquiring an additional 940,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Akero Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $422,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, August 4th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Akero Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, August 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $76.00 price target for the company. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Akero Therapeutics has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $81.57.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of AKRO traded up $0.04 on Thursday, reaching $47.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 158,451 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,404,563. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.84 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.92 and a beta of -0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 12.66 and a quick ratio of 12.66. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.34 and a 12-month high of $58.40. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $51.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.19.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.86) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.97) by $0.11. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.81) earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akero Therapeutics

In other news, VP Patrick Lamy sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.88, for a total transaction of $105,760.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 29,891 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,580,636.08. This trade represents a 6.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Timothy Rolph sold 12,500 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.30, for a total transaction of $616,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 167,124 shares in the company, valued at $8,239,213.20. This represents a 6.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 226,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,813,920. 7.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.