HC Wainwright Expects Higher Earnings for Akero Therapeutics

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) – Stock analysts at HC Wainwright increased their FY2028 earnings per share estimates for shares of Akero Therapeutics in a report issued on Monday, November 11th. HC Wainwright analyst E. Arce now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $1.66 for the year, up from their prior estimate of $1.47. HC Wainwright currently has a “Buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Akero Therapeutics’ current full-year earnings is ($3.82) per share.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Down 3.9 %

AKRO opened at $29.76 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $29.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.50. The company has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.26 and a beta of -0.26. Akero Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $13.86 and a 52 week high of $37.00. The company has a quick ratio of 24.89, a current ratio of 17.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($1.05) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by ($0.15).

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 1,738 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.18, for a total value of $45,500.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 605,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,849,817.06. This trade represents a 0.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Catriona Yale sold 8,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.53, for a total value of $243,668.03. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 75,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,090,380.43. The trade was a 10.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 428,397 shares of company stock worth $12,997,971 in the last ninety days. 7.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Akero Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 19.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,669,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,702,000 after purchasing an additional 584,875 shares in the last quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 8.1% in the second quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 1,499,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,188,000 after purchasing an additional 112,426 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 32.8% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 251,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,894,000 after acquiring an additional 61,988 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 26.1% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 107,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,514,000 after acquiring an additional 22,195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rheos Capital Works Inc. lifted its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 27.8% in the third quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 276,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,918,000 after acquiring an additional 60,000 shares during the last quarter.

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.