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

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) saw a significant decrease in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,820,000 shares, a decrease of 19.1% from the October 15th total of 4,720,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 512,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.20.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Down 3.9 %

NASDAQ:AKRO opened at $29.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 24.89 and a current ratio of 17.25. The firm has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.26 and a beta of -0.26. Akero Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $13.86 and a fifty-two week high of $37.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.50.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($1.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by ($0.15). Analysts predict that Akero Therapeutics will post -3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jonathan Young sold 50,716 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.57, for a total value of $1,601,104.12. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 216,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,828,149.02. This represents a 18.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Catriona Yale sold 15,485 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.62, for a total transaction of $505,120.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 74,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,419,033.96. The trade was a 17.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 428,397 shares of company stock valued at $12,997,971 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 2,366.0% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,233 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 1,183 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 21.6% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the period. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $100,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 20.0% during the first quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 6,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Akero Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $205,000.

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.