Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Short Interest Update

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,330,000 shares, an increase of 8.0% from the August 15th total of 5,860,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 678,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 9.3 days.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Up 0.0 %

NASDAQ:AKRO opened at $52.25 on Tuesday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $46.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.30. Akero Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $25.21 and a 52 week high of $58.38. The company has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a PE ratio of -20.41 and a beta of -0.94.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.77, for a total value of $1,244,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 462,680 shares in the company, valued at $23,027,583.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.77, for a total value of $1,244,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 462,680 shares in the company, valued at $23,027,583.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director G. Walmsley Graham acquired 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $42.69 per share, with a total value of $1,280,700.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 550,000 shares in the company, valued at $23,479,500. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 80,000 shares of company stock worth $3,413,700 and sold 78,094 shares worth $3,804,901. Insiders own 9.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Akero Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AKRO. General Atlantic L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $83,375,000. Perceptive Advisors LLC raised its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 270.7% during the 2nd quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 1,940,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,610,000 after acquiring an additional 1,417,150 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 5,491.5% during the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,141,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,666,000 after acquiring an additional 1,120,874 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 221.2% during the 3rd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,462,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,797,000 after acquiring an additional 1,007,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commodore Capital LP raised its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 112.0% during the 2nd quarter. Commodore Capital LP now owns 1,675,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,206,000 after acquiring an additional 885,000 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AKRO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, August 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $49.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 5th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 13th. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $62.00 to $64.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $65.33.

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.