Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Invests $311,000 in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Key Points

• Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB acquired 7,676 shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc., valued at approximately $311,000, during the first quarter of the year.
• Insider Timothy Rolph sold 25,000 shares for $1.38 million, resulting in a 12.84% decrease in his ownership, while total insider sales over the last 90 days amounted to $11.86 million.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $82.50 for Akero Therapeutics, with several firms issuing "buy" ratings and Bank of America raising its price objective to $64.00.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ purchased a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 7,676 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $311,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in Akero Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 764.3% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 1,582 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $83,000. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 19.0% during the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,570 shares of the company's stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,664 shares of the company's stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on AKRO. Bank of America increased their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Citigroup decreased 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $82.50.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

AKRO stock traded down $0.48 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $48.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 867,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,430,645. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $52.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.80. 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 1 year low of $21.34 and a 1 year high of $58.40. The stock has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.81 and a beta of -0.15.

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

Insider Activity

In other Akero Therapeutics news, insider Timothy Rolph sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.04, for a total value of $1,376,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 169,721 shares in the company, valued at $9,341,443.84. This represents a 12.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 37,837 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $30,078,122.35. This represents a 6.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 235,906 shares of company stock valued at $11,862,790 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.07% of the company's stock.

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.