Optimize Financial Inc Invests $232,000 in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Optimize Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 8,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 764.3% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582 shares during the period. F M Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,274,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $579,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Akero Therapeutics by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 98,463 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,739,000 after buying an additional 21,086 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Springhill Fund Asset Management HK Co Ltd acquired a new position in Akero Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,206,000.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of AKRO traded up $0.48 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $38.08. 652,762 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 857,673. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.86 and a 52 week high of $58.40. The company has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.15 and a beta of -0.18. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.99. The company has a current ratio of 17.25, a quick ratio of 17.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

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Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.99) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.98) by ($0.01). On average, equities 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 firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.90, for a total value of $1,647,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 716,062 shares in the company, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Timothy Rolph sold 31,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.77, for a total transaction of $1,742,812.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 170,237 shares in the company, valued at $9,494,117.49. This represents a 15.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 341,309 shares of company stock worth $15,863,578 and have sold 278,385 shares worth $13,345,929. Corporate insiders own 7.94% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AKRO shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Bank of America upgraded shares of Akero Therapeutics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $63.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a report on Sunday, March 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $76.29.

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.