The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $3.47 Million Stake in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) by 29.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 124,592 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,043 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Akero Therapeutics were worth $3,466,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 764.3% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $83,000. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $197,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 7,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 32,588.0% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 8,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 8,147 shares during the period.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Down 6.0 %

Akero Therapeutics stock opened at $39.85 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.63 and a beta of -0.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $41.21 and a 200-day moving average of $37.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 17.25 and a quick ratio of 17.25. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $17.86 and a one year high of $58.40.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.99) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.98) by ($0.01). On average, equities analysts expect that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AKRO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Akero Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $63.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Akero Therapeutics from $42.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $76.29.

Insider Activity at Akero Therapeutics

In related news, COO Jonathan Young sold 607 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total transaction of $27,242.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 200,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,000,235.20. This trade represents a 0.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.73, for a total value of $1,581,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 686,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,176,049.26. This trade represents a 4.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 219,208 shares of company stock valued at $9,556,494. 7.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Akero Therapeutics

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.