Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Shares Purchased by Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) by 13.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,321,972 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 513,613 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 6.19% of Akero Therapeutics worth $120,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 764.3% during 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 last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted 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 period. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 8.5% during the fourth 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. AlphaQuest LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 8,147 shares during the period. Finally, Optimize Financial Inc acquired a new position in Akero Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $232,000.

Insider Transactions at Akero Therapeutics

In other news, insider Catriona Yale sold 614 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total transaction of $27,556.32. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,265,125.92. The trade was a 0.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Jonathan Young sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.81, for a total transaction of $538,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 251,147 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,514,220.07. This trade represents a 3.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 227,458 shares of company stock valued at $10,271,361 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 7.94% of the company's stock.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Down 1.0 %

AKRO traded down $0.44 during trading on Friday, hitting $44.87. 1,212,166 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 878,595. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.86 and a 1 year high of $58.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $41.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.03. The firm has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.97 and a beta of -0.18. 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 (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.99) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.98) by ($0.01). As a group, analysts expect that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Bank of America raised shares of Akero Therapeutics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a report on Sunday, March 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.29.

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.