Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 526,233 Shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. $AKRO

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 14.2%, owning approximately 5.31% of the company, which is valued at $171.26 million.
• Insider trading activity includes COO Jonathan Young selling 12,500 shares, resulting in a 5.95% decrease in his position, while total insider sales in the last 90 days were valued at $11.81 million.
• A range of analysts have updated their ratings on Akero Therapeutics, with the consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $81.57.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) by 14.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,230,644 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 526,233 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 5.31% of Akero Therapeutics worth $171,256,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tema Etfs LLC purchased a new position in Akero Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $894,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Akero Therapeutics during the first quarter worth $10,404,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Akero Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $840,000. RTW Investments LP boosted its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 15.9% during the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Akero Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $422,000.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:AKRO traded up $1.09 on Tuesday, hitting $48.12. 589,611 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,058,639. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.34 and a 12 month high of $58.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.06 and a beta of -0.28. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $51.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.93. 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 (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last released its 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 period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.81) EPS. Analysts anticipate that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America lifted 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 objective 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. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, August 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Akero Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, Cowen assumed coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, August 4th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Akero Therapeutics presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.57.

Insider Transactions at Akero Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.59, for a total value of $1,457,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 490,757 shares in the company, valued at $23,845,882.63. The trade was a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Patrick Lamy sold 2,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.88, for a total value of $105,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 29,891 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,580,636.08. The trade was a 6.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 226,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,813,920 over the last three months. 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.