E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Holdings in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) by 156.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,172 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 14,744 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Akero Therapeutics were worth $564,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AKRO. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 225.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 500,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,302,000 after buying an additional 346,317 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Akero Therapeutics by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $500,000 after purchasing an additional 2,090 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Akero Therapeutics by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 30,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,533,000 after purchasing an additional 3,499 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in Akero Therapeutics by 101.0% during the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 126,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,378,000 after purchasing an additional 63,346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in Akero Therapeutics by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 33,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,686,000 after purchasing an additional 6,159 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. 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 stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.71.

Insider Activity at Akero Therapeutics

In other Akero Therapeutics news, COO Jonathan Young sold 5,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.15, for a total transaction of $100,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 258,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,204,865.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Catriona Yale sold 20,646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.49, for a total transaction of $732,726.54. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 78,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,782,948.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Jonathan Young sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.15, for a total transaction of $100,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 258,306 shares in the company, valued at $5,204,865.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 105,646 shares of company stock worth $3,420,627. 9.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

AKRO traded down $1.00 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $21.02. 581,020 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,186,817. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a PE ratio of -7.38 and a beta of -0.29. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.25 and a 1-year high of $58.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 29.27 and a quick ratio of 29.27. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $24.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.14.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported ($0.99) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.82) by ($0.17). As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Akero Therapeutics 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.