Eastern Bank Acquires Shares of 3,500 Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 42.2% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,121,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $154,589,000 after acquiring an additional 1,815,569 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 10.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,060,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,569,000 after acquiring an additional 384,555 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 19.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,669,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,702,000 after acquiring an additional 584,875 shares in the last quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 14.6% during the first quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 2,713,205 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,536,000 after acquiring an additional 344,827 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Redmile Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 67.5% during the first quarter. Redmile Group LLC now owns 1,858,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,951,000 after acquiring an additional 749,226 shares in the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Akero Therapeutics news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 1,738 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.18, for a total value of $45,500.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 605,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,849,817.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Akero Therapeutics news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 1,738 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.18, for a total value of $45,500.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 605,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,849,817.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jonathan Young sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.75, for a total value of $133,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 241,854 shares in the company, valued at $6,469,594.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 254,315 shares of company stock valued at $7,440,170. Insiders own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ AKRO opened at $29.33 on Friday. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $11.25 and a one year high of $37.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $27.78 and a 200 day moving average of $24.41. The company has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.17 and a beta of -0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 24.89 and a current ratio of 24.89.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 9th. The company reported ($0.81) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by $0.09. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.64 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.