Renaissance Technologies LLC Makes New $579,000 Investment in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 20,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $579,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in Akero Therapeutics by 32,588.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. acquired a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth $303,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $306,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $320,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 14,415 shares of the company's stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 2,274 shares during the period.

Insider Activity

In other Akero Therapeutics news, insider Timothy Rolph sold 6,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.03, for a total value of $256,437.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 169,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,963,652.63. The trade was a 3.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director G. Walmsley Graham acquired 91,309 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $44.75 per share, for a total transaction of $4,086,077.75. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,091,309 shares in the company, valued at $48,836,077.75. The trade was a 9.13 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 198,708 shares of company stock worth $8,673,699. 7.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Up 1.8 %

AKRO stock traded up $0.77 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $42.79. The stock had a trading volume of 980,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 881,097. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.86 and a 1-year high of $58.40. The company has a fifty day moving average of $41.49 and a 200 day moving average of $37.24. The company has a current ratio of 17.25, a quick ratio of 17.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.41 and a beta of -0.12.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.99) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.98) by ($0.01). On average, equities 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 commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Sunday, March 2nd. Bank of America raised Akero Therapeutics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $35.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target 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.