Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 177,807 Shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Alliancebernstein L.P. trimmed its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,839,281 shares of the company’s stock after selling 177,807 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Akero Therapeutics were worth $51,169,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $308,000. Sei Investments Co. acquired a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $303,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Akero Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $306,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Akero Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $320,000.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.90, for a total transaction of $1,647,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 716,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,311,803.80. This trade represents a 4.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Patrick Lamy sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $285,150.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 33,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,910,048.76. This represents a 12.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 341,309 shares of company stock worth $15,863,578 and have sold 242,135 shares worth $12,064,779. Corporate insiders own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Down 8.2 %

Shares of Akero Therapeutics stock opened at $36.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 17.25 and a current ratio of 17.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $47.41 and a 200-day moving average of $35.48. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.86 and a 52-week high of $58.40. The stock has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of -9.79 and a beta of -0.18.

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). As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.