Why Akero Therapeutics Inc. (AKRO) Surged on Monday

We recently compiled a list of the 10 Firms Post Impressive Gains on Monday. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Akero Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) stands against the other stocks.

Wall Street ended the first trading day of the week on a mixed note, with the Dow Jones the sole gainer, up 0.65 percent.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both fell by a whopping 1.46 percent and 3.07 percent, respectively, over fears that China is overtaking the US in innovations in the Artificial Intelligence industry, dampening confidence at a time when the world’s largest economy is bolstering investments in the sector.

Meanwhile, ten companies under mixed sectors ended the day stronger. In this article, we will take a look at which of the 10 companies posted impressive gains during a broader market pessimism and look at the reasons behind their rally.

Monday’s top advancers only considered the stocks with at least $2 billion in market capitalization and $5 million in daily trading volume.

A scientist in a lab coat examining a sample under a microscope in a laboratory.

Akero Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Akero Therapeutics soared by 97.52 percent in Monday’s trading to close at $51.71 per share following promising treatment results on liver disease.

On Monday, Akero released preliminary results for SYMMETRY, its phase 2b study to determine the use and security value for its product candidate efruxifermin (EFX) in patients with compensated cirrhosis, Child-Pugh Class A, because of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH).

According to the company, results showed that 39 percent of those treated with 50 mg of EFX for 96 weeks showed a reversal of cirrhosis without worsening MASH. This was compared to 15 percent in the placebo group, which is statistically significant.

Generally, patients tolerated EFX well with no reported death. However, one patient in the placebo group died from pneumonia and not from the drug.

Across both EFX groups, the most common adverse events were mild to moderate and involved gastrointestinal issues. A few of these include diarrhea, nausea, and increased appetite.

Overall AKRO ranks 1st on our list of Monday’s top advancers. While we acknowledge the potential of AKRO as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AKRO but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stock To Buy Now and Complete List of All AI Companies Under $2 Billion Market Cap.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.