Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Shares Up 5.8% – Time to Buy?

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) shares shot up 5.8% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $31.47 and last traded at $31.44. 85,791 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 873,853 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.71.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Akero Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.20.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Down 3.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 24.89 and a quick ratio of 24.89. The firm has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.59 and a beta of -0.25. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $28.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.65.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 9th. The company reported ($0.81) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by $0.09. Equities analysts expect that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Akero Therapeutics

In other Akero Therapeutics news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 63,539 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.53, for a total value of $2,003,384.67. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 605,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,088,798.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 63,539 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.53, for a total transaction of $2,003,384.67. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 605,417 shares in the company, valued at $19,088,798.01. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO William Richard White sold 75,159 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total transaction of $2,045,076.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 41,791 shares in the company, valued at $1,137,133.11. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 249,315 shares of company stock worth $7,306,420. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Akero Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 2,366.0% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $100,000. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its position in Akero Therapeutics by 253.5% during the 1st quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 4,217 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 3,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 20.0% in the first quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 6,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 1,030 shares during the period.

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.