Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 1,440,721 Shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. $AKRO

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 19.5%, selling 1,440,721 shares, which left them with approximately 5.94 million shares worth around $240 million.
• Akero Therapeutics reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of ($0.86), surpassing analysts' expectations of ($0.97), and has a current market cap of $3.81 billion.
• Several hedge funds are actively trading Akero shares, with recent changes including RTW Investments LP increasing their stake by 15.9%, now holding around 6.86 million shares.

Wellington Management Group LLP lessened its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) by 19.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,936,240 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,440,721 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 7.45% of Akero Therapeutics worth $240,299,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 5.9% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 656,733 shares of the company's stock worth $26,585,000 after purchasing an additional 36,412 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC boosted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 25.4% during the first quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 74,929 shares of the company's stock worth $3,033,000 after purchasing an additional 15,195 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. bought a new position in Akero Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 50.8% during the first quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 406,700 shares of the company's stock worth $16,463,000 after purchasing an additional 136,918 shares during the period. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Akero Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $642,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Timothy Rolph sold 12,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.30, for a total value of $616,250.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 167,124 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,239,213.20. This trade represents a 6.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Catriona Yale sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.95, for a total transaction of $529,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 91,488 shares in the company, valued at $4,844,289.60. This represents a 9.85% 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. Corporate insiders own 7.07% of the company's stock.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

AKRO traded up $0.94 on Friday, reaching $49.23. The company had a trading volume of 802,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,063,891. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.10. The company has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.62 and a beta of -0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 12.66 and a current ratio of 12.66. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.34 and a 52-week high of $58.40.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.86) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.97) by $0.11. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.81) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.