Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Short Interest Down 30.3% in October

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,720,000 shares, a drop of 30.3% from the September 30th total of 6,770,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 500,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 9.4 days.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AKRO opened at $29.71 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 24.89, a quick ratio of 24.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Akero Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $11.36 and a 12 month high of $37.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.54. The stock has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.28 and a beta of -0.25.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 9th. The company reported ($0.81) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by $0.09. As a group, analysts predict that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 63,539 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.53, for a total value of $2,003,384.67. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 605,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,088,798.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, COO Jonathan Young sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.75, for a total value of $133,750.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 241,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,469,594.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 63,539 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.53, for a total transaction of $2,003,384.67. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 605,417 shares in the company, valued at $19,088,798.01. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 254,315 shares of company stock valued at $7,440,170 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Akero Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 42.2% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,121,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $154,589,000 after purchasing an additional 1,815,569 shares in the last quarter. Redmile Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 67.5% during the 1st quarter. Redmile Group LLC now owns 1,858,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,951,000 after purchasing an additional 749,226 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 19.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,669,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,702,000 after purchasing an additional 584,875 shares in the last quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 119.0% during the 2nd quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 719,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,882,000 after purchasing an additional 391,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,060,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,569,000 after purchasing an additional 384,555 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.20.

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.