Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Stock Price Down 4.1% – Here’s Why

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)’s share price traded down 4.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $29.36 and last traded at $29.36. 20,603 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 98% from the average session volume of 839,450 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AKRO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, November 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, November 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Akero Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.83.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $30.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.35. The company has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.91 and a beta of -0.23. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($1.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.90) by ($0.15). As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Akero Therapeutics news, COO Jonathan Young sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.18, for a total transaction of $281,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 226,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,376,739.48. The trade was a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Catriona Yale sold 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total value of $152,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 75,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,081,879.10. The trade was a 6.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 392,228 shares of company stock valued at $12,255,200 over the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Akero Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AKRO. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 13.8% in the third 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. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $574,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the period. LMR Partners LLP increased its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. LMR Partners LLP now owns 20,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 2,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $100,000.

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.