Weiss Ratings Reaffirms Sell (D-) Rating for Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has reaffirmed a "Sell (D-)" rating for Akero Therapeutics, while other analysts have recently upgraded their ratings, with one assigning a "Buy" rating and a target price of $76.00.
• Akero Therapeutics has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $81.14, despite recent sales of shares by insiders.
• The company's stock is currently trading at $46.54, with a market capitalization of $3.72 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.20.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sell (d-)" rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at Weiss Ratings in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on AKRO. Wall Street Zen upgraded Akero Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Cowen assumed coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a report on Monday, August 4th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. HC Wainwright assumed coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, September 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a report on Monday, August 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.14.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Up 1.2%

AKRO stock traded up $0.54 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $46.54. The stock had a trading volume of 562,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,351,462. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.66. The company has a quick ratio of 12.66, a current ratio of 12.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.20 and a beta of -0.29. Akero Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $21.34 and a twelve month high of $58.40.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.86) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.97) by $0.11. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.81) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Akero Therapeutics news, insider Timothy Rolph sold 12,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.17, for a total value of $552,125.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 167,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,381,867.08. The trade was a 6.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.25, for a total value of $1,297,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 475,698 shares in the company, valued at $20,573,938.50. The trade was a 5.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 166,753 shares of company stock worth $7,941,214. Company insiders own 7.07% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. General Atlantic L.P. increased its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. General Atlantic L.P. now owns 5,733,989 shares of the company's stock worth $305,966,000 after purchasing an additional 500,000 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,817,091 shares of the company's stock worth $194,997,000 after purchasing an additional 495,119 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,230,644 shares of the company's stock worth $171,256,000 after purchasing an additional 526,233 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,745,564 shares of the company's stock worth $146,503,000 after purchasing an additional 250,821 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bellevue Group AG increased its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 58.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 1,985,272 shares of the company's stock worth $105,934,000 after purchasing an additional 734,606 shares during the last quarter.

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.

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