Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Shares Sold by Voya Investment Management LLC

Voya Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,471 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,560 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Akero Therapeutics were worth $570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AKRO. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 4,022.1% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 597,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,636,000 after acquiring an additional 583,486 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,321,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,238,000 after purchasing an additional 513,613 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 6,229.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 449,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,495,000 after purchasing an additional 442,014 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Akero Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $7,653,000. Finally, B Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Akero Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $7,233,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akero Therapeutics

In other news, Director G. Walmsley Graham bought 91,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $44.75 per share, for a total transaction of $4,086,077.75. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,091,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,836,077.75. This trade represents a 9.13 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.73, for a total transaction of $1,581,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 686,062 shares in the company, valued at $36,176,049.26. The trade was a 4.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 219,208 shares of company stock worth $9,556,494 in the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AKRO shares. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. Citigroup increased their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Bank of America raised Akero Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $63.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.29.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

Akero Therapeutics stock opened at $39.85 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $41.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.43. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.86 and a 52 week high of $58.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.63 and a beta of -0.12. 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 data on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.99) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.98) by ($0.01). Equities research analysts anticipate that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

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.