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 trimmed its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) by 19.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,936,240 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,440,721 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 7.45% of Akero Therapeutics worth $240,299,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Tema Etfs LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $894,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at $10,404,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $840,000. RTW Investments LP lifted its stake 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 valued at $190,840,000 after purchasing an additional 940,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $422,000.

Insider Activity at Akero Therapeutics

In other news, COO Jonathan Young sold 12,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.79, for a total transaction of $597,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 197,484 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,437,760.36. The trade was a 5.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Catriona Yale sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.23, for a total transaction of $542,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 92,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,001,687.13. The trade was a 9.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 226,406 shares of company stock worth $11,813,920. 7.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

AKRO traded down $1.27 during trading on Monday, hitting $47.96. The stock had a trading volume of 59,622 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,394,797. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.97. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.34 and a 12 month high of $58.40. The company has a current ratio of 12.66, a quick ratio of 12.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a PE ratio of -23.98 and a beta of -0.28.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.86) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.97) by $0.11. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.81) EPS. Analysts expect that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on AKRO. Citigroup reduced 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Akero Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a report on Monday, August 4th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a report on Monday, August 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Akero Therapeutics currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.57.

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.