Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Stock Price Down 6.3% - Time to Sell?

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) dropped 6.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $43.16 and last traded at $42.38. Approximately 56,274 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 804,962 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.24.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on AKRO. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised Akero Therapeutics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $63.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a report on Sunday, March 2nd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.29.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

The business's fifty day simple moving average is $46.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.39 and a beta of -0.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 17.25 and a quick ratio of 17.25.

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Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.99) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.98) by ($0.01). On average, research analysts forecast that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akero Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 716,062 shares of the company's stock, valued at $39,311,803.80. The trade was a 4.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Patrick Lamy sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $285,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 33,492 shares in the company, valued at $1,910,048.76. This represents a 12.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 341,309 shares of company stock worth $15,863,578 and sold 252,135 shares worth $12,345,079. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,092 shares of the company's stock worth $197,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 7,886 shares of the company's stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 41,442 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,153,000 after buying an additional 637 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 21,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $584,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 95,600 shares of the company's stock worth $2,660,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter.

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.