Jump Financial LLC Decreases Stake in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Jump Financial LLC cut its holdings in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) by 71.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,854 shares of the company's stock after selling 40,396 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC's holdings in Akero Therapeutics were worth $441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 1,582 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $197,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 32,588.0% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 8,172 shares of the company's stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 8,147 shares in the last quarter. Optimize Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. purchased a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $303,000.

Insider Activity at Akero Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.73, for a total value of $1,581,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 686,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,176,049.26. This represents a 4.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director G. Walmsley Graham purchased 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $48.00 per share, with a total value of $9,600,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,000,000 shares in the company, valued at $48,000,000. This represents a 25.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders purchased 341,309 shares of company stock worth $15,863,578 and sold 227,458 shares worth $10,271,361. 7.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on AKRO. HC Wainwright lifted their target price 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. UBS Group lifted their target price 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. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Akero Therapeutics presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.29.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Up 6.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ AKRO traded up $2.57 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $45.61. 1,480,598 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 874,059. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.86 and a 1 year high of $58.40. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $41.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.16 and a beta of -0.18. The company has a quick ratio of 17.25, a current ratio of 17.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.99) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.98) by ($0.01). On average, equities analysts predict that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 EPS for the current year.

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.