Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Increases Stake in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) by 13.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,321,972 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 513,613 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 6.19% of Akero Therapeutics worth $120,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 7,886 shares of the company's stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 21,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $584,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 95,600 shares of the company's stock worth $2,660,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 105,686 shares of the company's stock worth $2,940,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on AKRO. UBS Group boosted their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Sunday, March 2nd. HC Wainwright increased their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Akero Therapeutics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $35.00 to $63.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akero Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.23, for a total value of $1,056,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 624,324 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,994,934.52. This trade represents a 4.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO William Richard White sold 676 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $30,338.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 61,959 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,780,719.92. This trade represents a 1.08 % 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 221,208 shares worth $10,014,924. 7.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ AKRO opened at $41.00 on Monday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $42.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 17.25 and a current ratio of 17.25. The firm has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.93 and a beta of -0.18. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.86 and a 1 year high of $58.40.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.99) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.98) by ($0.01). As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Akero Therapeutics 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.

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