Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Stock Price

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) had its price target hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $46.00 to $96.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on AKRO. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $50.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $75.86.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

Akero Therapeutics stock traded down $1.28 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $54.08. 1,374,809 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,133,589. The company has a current ratio of 17.25, a quick ratio of 17.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Akero Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $15.32 and a twelve month high of $58.40. The company has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.42 and a beta of -0.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $30.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.88.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 analysts expect that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.90, for a total transaction of $1,647,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 716,062 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $39,311,803.80. This trade represents a 4.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Catriona Yale sold 9,061 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.73, for a total transaction of $251,261.53. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 74,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,056,401.34. This trade represents a 10.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 149,303 shares of company stock worth $6,206,412 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.94% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 54.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,896,632 shares of the company's stock valued at $226,554,000 after purchasing an additional 2,782,029 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Akero Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $37,392,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 4,022.1% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 597,993 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,636,000 after buying an additional 583,486 shares during the period. RTW Investments LP boosted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 9.0% during the third quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 5,919,435 shares of the company's stock valued at $169,829,000 after acquiring an additional 487,450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 2.9% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,077,478 shares of the company's stock valued at $203,053,000 after acquiring an additional 201,225 shares during 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.