Hudson Bay Capital Management LP Buys 84,573 Shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. $AKRO

Hudson Bay Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) by 28.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 386,523 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 84,573 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP owned about 0.48% of Akero Therapeutics worth $20,625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AKRO. Allostery Investments LP purchased a new stake in Akero Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $729,000. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 54.4% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 58,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,369,000 after purchasing an additional 20,620 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 302.9% in the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 82,471 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,338,000 after purchasing an additional 62,000 shares in the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the first quarter worth $667,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at $292,000.

Akero Therapeutics Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:AKRO opened at $54.65 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $53.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.05. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.34 and a 12 month high of $58.40. The company has a market cap of $4.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.17 and a beta of -0.40.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.99) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.94) by ($0.05). As a group, equities analysts forecast that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Akero Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $56.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Akero Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Akero Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akero Therapeutics

In other news, COO Jonathan Young sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.76, for a total transaction of $597,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 196,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,403,848.48. The trade was a 5.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.98, for a total transaction of $1,619,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 526,114 shares in the company, valued at $28,399,633.72. This represents a 5.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 55,000 shares of company stock worth $2,792,400 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.07% of the company’s stock.

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.