Rhumbline Advisers Purchases 1,310 Shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 105,686 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,310 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Akero Therapeutics were worth $2,940,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. abrdn plc grew its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 118.7% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 269,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,505,000 after buying an additional 146,424 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 1,446 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 4,022.1% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 597,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,636,000 after acquiring an additional 583,486 shares during the last quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Akero Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $2,212,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 127.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 127,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,662,000 after purchasing an additional 71,652 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $46.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $50.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America upgraded Akero Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $35.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup upped their price target on Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $75.86.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AKRO opened at $49.12 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of -13.10 and a beta of -0.11. The company has a quick ratio of 17.25, a current ratio of 17.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.86 and a 12-month high of $58.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $38.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.57.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.99) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.98) by ($0.01). Research analysts anticipate that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akero Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.09, for a total value of $802,250.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 605,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,427,831.53. The trade was a 3.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Patrick Lamy sold 925 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.79, for a total transaction of $28,480.75. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 17,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $549,847.82. This trade represents a 4.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 208,992 shares of company stock worth $9,633,413 over the last three months. Company insiders own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

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.