Woodline Partners LP Acquires 87,499 Shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) by 29.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 379,967 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 87,499 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP owned 0.54% of Akero Therapeutics worth $10,571,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 764.3% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,582 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Akero Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $83,000. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,092 shares of the company's stock worth $197,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 7,886 shares of the company's stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 32,588.0% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 8,172 shares of the company's stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 8,147 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AKRO has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $82.50.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of AKRO traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $46.51. 2,382,735 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 959,525. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.86 and a fifty-two week high of $58.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 17.25 and a quick ratio of 17.25. The business has a 50-day moving average of $41.01 and a 200-day moving average of $38.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.41 and a beta of -0.12.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.01) by $1.91. On average, research analysts expect that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Patrick Lamy sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.09, for a total transaction of $48,090.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 33,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,610,630.28. The trade was a 2.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Jonathan Young sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.86, for a total transaction of $2,243,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 201,147 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,023,454.42. This trade represents a 19.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 223,208 shares of company stock worth $9,313,294 in the last three months. Company insiders own 7.94% 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.