Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Earns Overweight Rating from Analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald

Research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) in a research report issued on Tuesday, Briefing.com reports. The firm set an “overweight” rating and a $69.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 32.06% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright upped their price target on Akero Therapeutics from $62.00 to $64.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $49.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 5th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 13th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a report on Monday, August 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $83.00 price target for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $65.86.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of AKRO opened at $52.25 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.41 and a beta of -0.94. Akero Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $25.21 and a fifty-two week high of $58.38. The company has a quick ratio of 29.78, a current ratio of 29.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $46.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.30.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.60) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.61) by $0.01. On average, research analysts forecast that Akero Therapeutics will post -2.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director G. Walmsley Graham bought 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $42.06 per share, for a total transaction of $1,051,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 600,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,236,000. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director G. Walmsley Graham acquired 25,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $42.06 per share, for a total transaction of $1,051,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 600,000 shares in the company, valued at $25,236,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Catriona Yale sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.76, for a total transaction of $558,360.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 46,627 shares in the company, valued at $2,366,786.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 80,000 shares of company stock worth $3,413,700 and sold 78,094 shares worth $3,804,901. Company insiders own 9.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Avidity Partners Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Avidity Partners Management LP now owns 3,825,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,610,000 after acquiring an additional 703,000 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 19.3% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,321,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,065,000 after purchasing an additional 537,776 shares in the last quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC increased its position in Akero Therapeutics by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 3,243,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $177,767,000 after purchasing an additional 81,656 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,623,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,383,000 after buying an additional 222,643 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,240,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,596,000 after purchasing an additional 9,424 shares during the period.

Akero Therapeutics Company Profile

Akero Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical-stage company, engages in the development of transformational treatments for patients with serious metabolic diseases, including non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a disease without any approved therapies. Its lead product candidate is efruxifermin (EFX), an analog of fibroblast growth factor 21, which protects against cellular stress and regulates metabolism of lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins throughout the body.