Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $6.41 Million Stock Position in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. $AKRO

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. significantly increased its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 7,613.2% in Q1, acquiring an additional 156,223 shares, bringing its total to 158,275 shares valued at approximately $6.4 million.
• Several other institutional investors also invested in Akero during the same quarter, with notable acquisitions including Nuveen LLC and others adding to their stakes.
• Insider transactions included the sale of 25,000 shares by Timothy Rolph and 37,837 shares by CEO Andrew Cheng, indicating a decrease in their ownership percentages.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) by 7,613.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 158,275 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 156,223 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.20% of Akero Therapeutics worth $6,407,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup cut 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. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, August 4th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, August 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $76.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America raised 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Akero Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.57.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

AKRO stock traded up $1.09 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $48.12. 589,611 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,058,639. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.34 and a twelve month high of $58.40. The company has a quick ratio of 12.66, a current ratio of 12.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.06 and a beta of -0.28.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company posted ($0.81) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.59, for a total value of $1,457,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 490,757 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,845,882.63. This trade represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Timothy Rolph sold 12,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.30, for a total transaction of $616,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 167,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,239,213.20. The trade was a 6.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 226,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,813,920 in the last 90 days. 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.