Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,290,000 shares, a decrease of 9.1% from the November 15th total of 3,620,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 570,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, November 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Akero Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akero Therapeutics

In other news, insider Catriona Yale sold 15,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.62, for a total transaction of $505,120.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 74,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,419,033.96. This trade represents a 17.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 24,992 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.14, for a total transaction of $778,250.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 605,417 shares in the company, valued at $18,852,685.38. The trade was a 3.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 396,099 shares of company stock valued at $12,361,885. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Exome Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Akero Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,212,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 127.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 127,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,662,000 after acquiring an additional 71,652 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 16,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 2,049 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $308,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 54.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,896,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,554,000 after purchasing an additional 2,782,029 shares in the last quarter.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

AKRO opened at $29.23 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.79 and a beta of -0.23. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $30.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.27. Akero Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $15.32 and a 1-year high of $37.00. 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 earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($1.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.90) by ($0.15). On average, analysts expect that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.