Redmile Group LLC Purchases 749,226 Shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Redmile Group LLC lifted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) by 67.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,858,702 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 749,226 shares during the quarter. Akero Therapeutics makes up approximately 1.7% of Redmile Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Redmile Group LLC owned about 2.69% of Akero Therapeutics worth $46,951,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 10.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,060,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,569,000 after purchasing an additional 384,555 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 19.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,669,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,702,000 after buying an additional 584,875 shares in the last quarter. RTW Investments LP bought a new stake in Akero Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $83,891,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Akero Therapeutics by 247.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,881,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,294,000 after acquiring an additional 2,053,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baker BROS. Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 14.6% in the first quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 2,713,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,536,000 after acquiring an additional 344,827 shares during the last quarter.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Down 3.9 %

Shares of AKRO traded down $1.10 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $27.02. The stock had a trading volume of 473,545 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,051,306. The company has a market cap of $1.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.44 and a beta of -0.28. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.25 and a 52 week high of $53.77. The company has a quick ratio of 30.12, a current ratio of 30.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $23.12 and a 200 day moving average of $23.02.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 10th. The company reported ($0.90) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.90). On average, sell-side analysts expect that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AKRO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $50.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO William Richard White sold 34,811 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.04, for a total value of $976,100.44. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 41,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,171,819.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO William Richard White sold 34,811 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.04, for a total value of $976,100.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 41,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,171,819.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Jonathan Young sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.40, for a total transaction of $117,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 246,854 shares in the company, valued at $5,776,383.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 205,529 shares of company stock worth $5,419,376. Corporate 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.