7,330 Shares in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Acquired by Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $297,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RTW Investments LP boosted its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 6,859,823 shares of the company's stock worth $190,840,000 after buying an additional 940,388 shares in the last quarter. Deep Track Capital LP increased its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 116.0% during the 4th quarter. Deep Track Capital LP now owns 1,490,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,452,000 after acquiring an additional 800,216 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Akero Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $18,059,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 93.3% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,155,787 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,786,000 after purchasing an additional 557,794 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,321,972 shares of the company's stock valued at $120,238,000 after purchasing an additional 513,613 shares during the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Timothy Rolph sold 1,129 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.84, for a total transaction of $61,914.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 166,234 shares in the company, valued at $9,116,272.56. This represents a 0.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CTO Scott A. Gangloff sold 848 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.84, for a total value of $46,504.32. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 23,452 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,286,107.68. This trade represents a 3.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 234,979 shares of company stock valued at $11,041,410. 7.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of AKRO stock traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $52.01. 404,821 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,048,061. The stock has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.67 and a beta of -0.15. The company has a quick ratio of 16.80, a current ratio of 16.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.02 and a fifty-two week high of $58.40. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.57.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective 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. Citigroup dropped their price target on Akero Therapeutics from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Akero Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target 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.