Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at Bank of America

Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $37.71.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AKRO opened at $20.79 on Monday. Akero Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $11.25 and a twelve month high of $58.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $24.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.19. The company has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a PE ratio of -7.29 and a beta of -0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 29.27, a current ratio of 29.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported ($0.99) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.82) by ($0.17). On average, equities analysts anticipate that Akero Therapeutics will post -4.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Akero Therapeutics news, COO Jonathan Young sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.38, for a total transaction of $121,900.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 263,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,419,400.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Akero Therapeutics news, COO Jonathan Young sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.38, for a total transaction of $121,900.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 263,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,419,400.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Catriona Yale sold 20,646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.49, for a total transaction of $732,726.54. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 78,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,782,948.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 100,646 shares of company stock valued at $3,319,877. 9.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP grew its position in Akero Therapeutics by 40.0% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 10.8% in the third quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,000 after buying an additional 918 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 1.0% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 97,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,921,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Akero Therapeutics in the third quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Strs Ohio raised its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter.

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.