8,336 Shares in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Bought by Optimize Financial Inc

Optimize Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 8,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AKRO. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 21,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $584,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 95,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,660,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 105,686 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,940,000 after buying an additional 1,310 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,800 shares of the company's stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 1,446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 764.3% in the fourth 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 during the period.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:AKRO traded up $0.19 on Friday, reaching $37.63. 521,577 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 854,711. The firm has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of -10.03 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. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.06. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.86 and a 12 month high of $58.40.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.99) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.98) by ($0.01). Equities research analysts forecast that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akero Therapeutics

In other news, insider Catriona Yale sold 9,073 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.91, for a total transaction of $343,957.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,602,738.94. This represents a 8.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.90, for a total transaction of $1,647,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 716,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,311,803.80. The trade was a 4.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 341,309 shares of company stock worth $15,863,578 and have sold 287,458 shares worth $13,689,886. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised Akero Therapeutics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $35.00 to $63.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Sunday, March 2nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.29.

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.