Akero Therapeutics completed a public offering, raising approximately $402.5 million for its metabolic disease treatments.
Quiver AI Summary
Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has successfully completed its underwritten public offering, selling 6,427,170 shares of common stock at $48.00 per share, including an over-allotment option for an additional 1,093,750 shares. In addition, the company issued pre-funded warrants for 1,958,247 shares at an effective price of approximately $47.9999 each. The total gross proceeds from the offering amount to around $402.5 million before expenses. J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, and Jefferies served as joint book-running managers for the offering, with UBS Investment Bank acting as a co-manager. Akero Therapeutics focuses on developing treatments for metabolic diseases, with its lead product efruxifermin currently undergoing Phase 3 clinical trials for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH).
Potential Positives
- Akero Therapeutics successfully closed a public offering, raising approximately $402.5 million, which will strengthen its financial position and support ongoing clinical trials.
- The offering included the full exercise of underwriters’ option, indicating strong investor demand and confidence in the company's growth potential.
- The funds raised will facilitate the continued development of Akero's lead product candidate, efruxifermin, currently undergoing Phase 3 clinical studies, crucial for advancing treatment options for serious metabolic diseases.
Potential Negatives
- The issuance of 6,427,170 shares of common stock at a high public offering price of $48.00 per share might indicate a lack of investor confidence, as companies often issue shares at lower prices when their stock is seen positively by the market.
- The large number of shares sold in the public offering may significantly dilute existing shareholders' equity, potentially leading to dissatisfaction among current investors.
- Being a clinical-stage company, Akero's reliance on securing substantial funds through public offerings raises concerns regarding its ability to sustain operations and continue its development programs without continuous financing.
FAQ
What is the recent public offering announced by Akero Therapeutics?
Akero Therapeutics recently closed an underwritten public offering of 6,427,170 shares of common stock and pre-funded warrants.
How much gross proceeds did Akero Therapeutics raise from the offering?
The offering generated approximately $402.5 million in gross proceeds before deductions for underwriting discounts and expenses.
Who managed the offering for Akero Therapeutics?
J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, and Jefferies acted as joint book-running managers for the public offering.
What is Akero Therapeutics' primary focus?
Akero Therapeutics is focused on developing transformational treatments for patients with serious metabolic diseases, particularly metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH).
Where can I access the prospectus for Akero's offering?
The prospectus can be obtained from J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Jefferies, or on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.
Disclaimer: This is an AI-generated summary of a press release distributed by GlobeNewswire. The model used to summarize this release may make mistakes. See the full release here.
$AKRO Insider Trading Activity
$AKRO insiders have traded $AKRO stock on the open market 59 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 0 have been purchases and 59 have been sales.
Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $AKRO stock by insiders over the last 6 months:
- ANDREW CHENG (President and CEO) has made 0 purchases and 12 sales selling 264,593 shares for an estimated $9,052,934.
- JONATHAN YOUNG (Chief Operating Officer) has made 0 purchases and 13 sales selling 133,787 shares for an estimated $4,050,022.
- CATRIONA YALE (Chief Development Officer) has made 0 purchases and 18 sales selling 101,436 shares for an estimated $3,055,108.
- WILLIAM RICHARD WHITE (Chief Financial Officer) has made 0 purchases and 6 sales selling 101,790 shares for an estimated $2,760,714.
- TIMOTHY ROLPH (Chief Scientific Officer) has made 0 purchases and 7 sales selling 40,405 shares for an estimated $2,024,123.
- PATRICK LAMY (Senior VP, Commercial Strategy) has made 0 purchases and 3 sales selling 6,925 shares for an estimated $342,760.
To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard.
$AKRO Hedge Fund Activity
We have seen 79 institutional investors add shares of $AKRO stock to their portfolio, and 69 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.
Here are some of the largest recent moves:
- WELLINGTON MANAGEMENT GROUP LLP added 2,782,029 shares (+54.4%) to their portfolio in Q3 2024, for an estimated $79,816,412
- POINT72 ASSET MANAGEMENT, L.P. added 1,303,323 shares (+inf%) to their portfolio in Q3 2024, for an estimated $37,392,336
- BRAIDWELL LP removed 1,084,400 shares (-100.0%) from their portfolio in Q3 2024, for an estimated $31,111,436
- DEEP TRACK CAPITAL, LP added 689,784 shares (+inf%) to their portfolio in Q3 2024, for an estimated $19,789,902
- YIHENG CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, L.P. removed 675,410 shares (-47.1%) from their portfolio in Q3 2024, for an estimated $19,377,512
- SG AMERICAS SECURITIES, LLC added 583,486 shares (+4022.1%) to their portfolio in Q4 2024, for an estimated $16,232,580
- MORGAN STANLEY removed 498,458 shares (-52.7%) from their portfolio in Q3 2024, for an estimated $14,300,760
To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard.
Full Release
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Jan. 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: AKRO), a clinical-stage company developing transformational treatments for patients with serious metabolic disease marked by high unmet medical need, announced today the closing of its previously announced underwritten public offering of (i) 6,427,170 shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $48.00 per share, which includes the exercise in full by the underwriters of their option to purchase up to an additional 1,093,750 shares of common stock, and (ii) in lieu of common stock to certain investors, pre-funded warrants to purchase 1,958,247 shares of common stock at a public offering price of $47.9999 per pre-funded warrant, which represents the per share public offering price of each share of common stock less the $0.0001 per share exercise price for each pre-funded warrant. All of the shares of common stock and pre-funded warrants in the offering were sold by Akero. The gross proceeds from the offering, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses, were approximately $402.5 million.
J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, and Jefferies acted as joint book-running managers for the offering. UBS Investment Bank acted as co-manager for the offering.
The securities were offered by Akero pursuant to an automatically effective shelf registration statement that was previously filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). A final prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to and describing the terms of the offering was filed with the SEC on January 29, 2025. The final prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained from: J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, by telephone at (866) 803-9204, or by email at prospectus-eq_fi@jpmchase.com; Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 180 Varick Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10014, or by email at prospectus@morganstanley.com; or Jefferies LLC, Attention: Equity Syndicate Prospectus Department, 520 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10022, by telephone at (877) 821-7388, or by email at prospectus_department@jefferies.com; or by accessing the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.
About Akero Therapeutics
Akero Therapeutics is a clinical-stage company developing transformational treatments for patients with serious metabolic diseases marked by high unmet medical need, including metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). Akero’s lead product candidate, efruxifermin (EFX), is currently being evaluated in three ongoing Phase 3 clinical studies: SYNCHRONY
Histology
in patients with pre-cirrhotic MASH (F2-F3 fibrosis), SYNCHRONY
Outcomes
in patients with compensated cirrhosis due to MASH, and SYNCHRONY
Real-World
in patients with MASH or MASLD (Metabolic Dysfunction Associated Steatotic Liver Disease). The Phase 3 SYNCHRONY program builds on the results of two Phase 2b clinical trials, the HARMONY study in patients with pre-cirrhotic MASH and the SYMMETRY study in patients with compensated cirrhosis due to MASH.
Investor Contact:
Christina Tartaglia
Precision AQ
212.362.1200
christina.tartaglia@precisionaq.com
Media Contact:
Peg Rusconi
Deerfield Group
617.910.6217
Peg.rusconi@deerfieldgroup.com
This article was originally published on Quiver News, read the full story.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
