Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Short Interest Down 19.1% in October

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,820,000 shares, a decrease of 19.1% from the October 15th total of 4,720,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 512,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Akero Therapeutics news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 1,738 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.18, for a total value of $45,500.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 605,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,849,817.06. The trade was a 0.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Catriona Yale sold 8,851 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.53, for a total transaction of $243,668.03. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 75,931 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,090,380.43. This represents a 10.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 428,397 shares of company stock worth $12,997,971 in the last ninety days. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Akero Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $265,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,327,000. Fred Alger Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 117.8% during the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 269,601 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,735,000 after buying an additional 145,813 shares during the period. Propel Bio Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 4.9% during the third quarter. Propel Bio Management LLC now owns 343,729 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,862,000 after buying an additional 15,977 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 732.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 30,337 shares of the company's stock valued at $870,000 after acquiring an additional 26,691 shares in the last quarter.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of AKRO stock opened at $29.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.26 and a beta of -0.26. Akero Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $13.86 and a fifty-two week high of $37.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 24.89 and a current ratio of 17.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $29.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.50.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($1.05) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.90) by ($0.15). Analysts expect that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

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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