Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Short Interest Down 9.1% in November

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,290,000 shares, a drop of 9.1% from the November 15th total of 3,620,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 570,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on AKRO shares. Citigroup began coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a report on Monday, November 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a report on Monday, November 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Patrick Lamy sold 925 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.79, for a total transaction of $28,480.75. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 17,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $549,847.82. This represents a 4.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 24,992 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.14, for a total transaction of $778,250.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 605,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,852,685.38. This represents a 3.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 398,584 shares of company stock worth $12,430,272. Corporate insiders own 7.94% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Akero Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 191.2% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,517 shares of the company's stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 9,532 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Akero Therapeutics by 32.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 251,234 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,894,000 after acquiring an additional 61,988 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 30.3% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 107,338 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,518,000 after acquiring an additional 24,940 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 23.7% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 154,592 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,627,000 after acquiring an additional 29,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 22,021.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 12,609 shares of the company's stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 12,552 shares during the period.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

AKRO traded down $0.14 on Friday, reaching $28.89. The company had a trading volume of 720,354 shares, compared to its average volume of 843,692. The company has a quick ratio of 17.25, a current ratio of 17.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Akero Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $15.32 and a 1 year high of $37.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a PE ratio of -7.70 and a beta of -0.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $30.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.19.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($1.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by ($0.15). As a group, research analysts forecast that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.