Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 17,797 Shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) by 19.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 72,604 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,797 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Akero Therapeutics worth $2,020,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AKRO. Deep Track Capital LP boosted its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 116.0% in the fourth quarter. Deep Track Capital LP now owns 1,490,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,452,000 after acquiring an additional 800,216 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Akero Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $18,059,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 4,022.1% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 597,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,636,000 after buying an additional 583,486 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,321,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,238,000 after buying an additional 513,613 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake 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 valued at $12,495,000 after buying an additional 442,014 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AKRO shares. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Bank of America raised Akero Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Akero Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $82.33.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Up 24.7%

Shares of AKRO stock opened at $47.57 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 17.25, a current ratio of 17.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $40.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.99. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.86 and a 12-month high of $58.40. The firm has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.69 and a beta of -0.12.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.01) by $1.91. Equities analysts anticipate that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.77, for a total value of $1,253,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 656,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,403,709.74. The trade was a 4.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Patrick Lamy sold 1,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.09, for a total value of $48,090.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 33,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,610,630.28. This represents a 2.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 219,208 shares of company stock valued at $9,113,294 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

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.