Wellington Management Group LLP Purchases 2,782,029 Shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) by 54.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,896,632 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,782,029 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 11.31% of Akero Therapeutics worth $226,554,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 12.7% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 54,185 shares of the company's stock worth $1,369,000 after purchasing an additional 6,113 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 191.2% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,517 shares of the company's stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 9,532 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 32.8% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 251,234 shares of the company's stock worth $5,894,000 after purchasing an additional 61,988 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 30.3% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 107,338 shares of the company's stock worth $2,518,000 after purchasing an additional 24,940 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 23.7% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 154,592 shares of the company's stock worth $3,627,000 after purchasing an additional 29,600 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, November 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a report on Monday, November 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Akero Therapeutics has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.83.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

AKRO stock traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $31.12. The company had a trading volume of 324,309 shares, compared to its average volume of 850,838. The company has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.30 and a beta of -0.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $30.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.88. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $15.32 and a 1-year high of $37.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 17.25 and a quick ratio of 17.25.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($1.05) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.90) by ($0.15). Equities research analysts expect that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akero Therapeutics

In other Akero Therapeutics news, insider Catriona Yale sold 15,485 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.62, for a total value of $505,120.70. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 74,158 shares in the company, valued at $2,419,033.96. The trade was a 17.27 % 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, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 25,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.09, for a total value of $802,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 605,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,427,831.53. This represents a 3.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 383,248 shares of company stock worth $11,940,986 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.94% of the company's stock.

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.