Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,012,182 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 326,308 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 5.41% of Akero Therapeutics worth $152,356,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 19.3% during the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 26,819 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,241,000 after acquiring an additional 4,332 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,750,348 shares of the company's stock valued at $139,113,000 after buying an additional 162,820 shares in the last quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 3,767,380 shares of the company's stock valued at $190,554,000 after buying an additional 300,000 shares in the last quarter. Clough Capital Partners L P bought a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,652,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 538,023 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,213,000 after buying an additional 77,594 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Akero Therapeutics

In other news, insider Catriona Yale sold 20,646 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.49, for a total transaction of $732,726.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 78,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,782,948.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Catriona Yale sold 20,646 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.49, for a total value of $732,726.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 78,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,782,948.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.87, for a total transaction of $2,465,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 591,416 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,439,843.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 9.69% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AKRO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $39.00.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of Akero Therapeutics stock traded down $0.69 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $23.38. 869,827 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,391,602. The company has a 50 day moving average of $24.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.93. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $11.25 and a fifty-two week high of $58.38. The company has a current ratio of 29.27, a quick ratio of 29.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported ($0.99) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.82) by ($0.17). On average, research analysts expect that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -4.06 EPS for the current fiscal 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.