Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Citigroup

Research analysts at Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) in a note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup’s price target indicates a potential upside of 109.47% from the company’s previous close.

Separately, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.83.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Up 5.0 %

NASDAQ AKRO opened at $31.03 on Monday. Akero Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $15.32 and a 1-year high of $37.00. The company has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.27 and a beta of -0.26. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $29.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.81. The company has a current ratio of 17.25, a quick ratio of 17.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($1.05) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by ($0.15). Equities analysts forecast that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Akero Therapeutics news, insider Catriona Yale sold 15,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.62, for a total transaction of $505,120.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,419,033.96. The trade was a 17.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 1,738 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 605,417 shares in the company, valued at $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 a total of 437,458 shares of company stock valued at $13,249,232 in the last 90 days. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 127.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 127,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,662,000 after acquiring an additional 71,652 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 16,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 2,049 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $308,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 54.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,896,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,554,000 after purchasing an additional 2,782,029 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RTW Investments LP increased its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 9.0% in the third quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 5,919,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,829,000 after purchasing an additional 487,450 shares during the last quarter.

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.