Woodline Partners LP Grows Stock Position in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) by 29.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 379,967 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 87,499 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP owned about 0.54% of Akero Therapeutics worth $10,571,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 764.3% during 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 bought a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $83,000. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,092 shares of the company's stock valued at $197,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 7,886 shares of the company's stock valued at $220,000 after acquiring an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 32,588.0% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 8,172 shares of the company's stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 8,147 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Akero Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.23, for a total transaction of $1,056,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 624,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,994,934.52. The trade was a 4.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Catriona Yale sold 614 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $27,556.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,265,125.92. This represents a 0.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 223,208 shares of company stock worth $9,313,294. Insiders own 7.94% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AKRO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on Akero Therapeutics from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Sunday, March 2nd. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $82.50.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of AKRO stock traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $46.27. 291,465 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,434,346. The company has a current ratio of 17.25, a quick ratio of 17.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.86 and a 12-month high of $58.40. The company has a market capitalization of $3.69 billion, a PE ratio of -12.34 and a beta of -0.12. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $41.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.45.

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, equities research analysts anticipate that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

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.