Bank of America Begins Coverage on Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) in a research report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on AKRO. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $37.71.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Down 3.5 %

NASDAQ AKRO opened at $20.26 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 29.27, a quick ratio of 29.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $24.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.98. The company has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.11 and a beta of -0.38. Akero Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $11.25 and a 1-year high of $58.38.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported ($0.99) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.82) by ($0.17). Equities analysts forecast that Akero Therapeutics will post -4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Catriona Yale sold 20,646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.49, for a total value of $732,726.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 78,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,782,948.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Catriona Yale sold 20,646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.49, for a total value of $732,726.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 78,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,782,948.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.87, for a total transaction of $2,465,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 591,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,439,843.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 100,646 shares of company stock worth $3,319,877 in the last quarter. Insiders own 9.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Akero Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 40.0% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Strs Ohio grew its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $75,000.

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.