HC Wainwright Reaffirms Buy Rating for Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO)

HC Wainwright reissued their buy rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. HC Wainwright currently has a $50.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Akero Therapeutics’ Q4 2024 earnings at ($1.13) EPS, FY2024 earnings at ($3.90) EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at ($1.16) EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at ($1.19) EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at ($1.20) EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at ($1.22) EPS, FY2025 earnings at ($4.77) EPS, FY2026 earnings at ($3.91) EPS, FY2027 earnings at ($1.17) EPS and FY2028 earnings at $1.66 EPS.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Down 3.9 %

Shares of AKRO stock opened at $29.76 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $29.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.50. The company has a quick ratio of 24.89, a current ratio of 17.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a PE ratio of -8.26 and a beta of -0.26. Akero Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $13.86 and a 12-month high of $37.00.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($1.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by ($0.15). As a group, analysts predict that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Akero Therapeutics

In other news, insider Catriona Yale sold 15,485 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.62, for a total transaction of $505,120.70. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 74,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,419,033.96. The trade was a 17.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 1,738 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.18, for a total transaction of $45,500.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 605,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,849,817.06. This trade represents a 0.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 428,397 shares of company stock valued at $12,997,971 over the last three months. 7.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 2,366.0% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 1,183 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 21.6% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Akero Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $100,000. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 253.5% in the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 4,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 3,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 20.0% in the first quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 6,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter.

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.