Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,720,000 shares, a decline of 30.3% from the September 30th total of 6,770,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 500,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 9.4 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 1,738 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.18, for a total transaction of $45,500.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 605,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,849,817.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Akero Therapeutics news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 1,738 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 605,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,849,817.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Jonathan Young sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.15, for a total transaction of $1,206,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 226,286 shares in the company, valued at $6,822,522.90. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 254,315 shares of company stock valued at $7,440,170. 7.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 6,175 shares of the company's stock worth $156,000 after buying an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 2,366.0% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,233 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 1,183 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,766 shares of the company's stock worth $348,000 after buying an additional 1,858 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 20,000 shares of the company's stock worth $574,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AKRO traded up $0.58 on Friday, hitting $29.33. The stock had a trading volume of 403,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 880,016. Akero Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $11.25 and a twelve month high of $37.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 24.89 and a current ratio of 24.89. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $27.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.48. The company has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.17 and a beta of -0.25.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 9th. The company reported ($0.81) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by $0.09. On average, equities research analysts predict that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.20.

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.