Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Director G. Walmsley Graham Acquires 200,000 Shares

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) Director G. Walmsley Graham acquired 200,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $48.00 per share, with a total value of $9,600,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,000,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,000,000. This represents a 25.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of AKRO stock traded down $0.94 on Tuesday, reaching $50.21. The stock had a trading volume of 992,694 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,861,046. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 17.25 and a current ratio of 17.25. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.86 and a 1 year high of $58.40. The stock has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.38 and a beta of -0.11. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.24.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($1.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by ($0.15). Equities research analysts expect that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 21.6% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 21,000 shares of the company's stock worth $584,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 95,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,660,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 105,686 shares of the company's stock worth $2,940,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,800 shares of the company's stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 1,446 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AKRO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup upped their target price 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. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $50.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $46.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Akero Therapeutics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $75.86.

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.