Akero Therapeutics price target raised to $50 from $35 at Jefferies

Jefferies raised the firm’s price target on Akero Therapeutics to $50 from $35 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The company reported “strong, and increasingly more potent,” Phase IIB metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis data with 51% placebo-delta on fibrosis at 96 weeks, up from an already-strong 20% delta after six months previously reported, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says this is the highest fibrosis delta by any drug and above investor expectations for maintaining or slightly improving. This morning’s data support a bullish view and increases confidence in the success of the ongoing Phase III, contends Jefferies.