Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 6,770,000 shares, a drop of 5.4% from the September 15th total of 7,160,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 569,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 11.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AKRO. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.20.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AKRO opened at $31.05 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 24.89 and a quick ratio of 24.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $27.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.14. Akero Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $11.25 and a 1-year high of $37.00. The company has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a PE ratio of -9.70 and a beta of -0.25.

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

Insider Activity at Akero Therapeutics

In related news, CFO William Richard White sold 139,083 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.98, for a total value of $3,752,459.34. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 41,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,127,521.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Akero Therapeutics news, CFO William Richard White sold 139,083 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.98, for a total value of $3,752,459.34. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 41,791 shares in the company, valued at $1,127,521.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 1,738 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.18, for a total transaction of $45,500.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 605,417 shares in the company, valued at $15,849,817.06. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 304,867 shares of company stock valued at $8,410,994 over the last 90 days. 7.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. 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 acquiring an additional 1,183 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 3,024 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,030 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Akero Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at $211,000. Finally, Quattro Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 43,378.3% in the first quarter. Quattro Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 9,977 shares during the period.

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.