Walleye Capital LLC Takes $3.75 Million Position in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 134,705 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,747,000. Walleye Capital LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Akero Therapeutics at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 764.3% in the 4th 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. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 6.8% in 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 during the period. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 32,588.0% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 8,172 shares of the company's stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 8,147 shares during the period. Optimize Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $232,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. bought a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $303,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AKRO. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. Bank of America upgraded shares of Akero Therapeutics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Akero Therapeutics presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Timothy Rolph sold 31,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were 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 directly owns 170,237 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,494,117.49. The trade was a 15.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO William Richard White sold 676 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total transaction of $30,338.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 61,959 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,780,719.92. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 341,309 shares of company stock valued at $15,863,578 and sold 287,458 shares valued at $13,689,886. Insiders own 7.94% of the company's stock.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

AKRO traded up $0.70 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $39.20. 531,966 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 856,272. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.31. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.86 and a 12-month high of $58.40. 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 company has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.45 and a beta of -0.18.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.98) by ($0.01). On average, equities analysts forecast that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 EPS for the current year.

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.