We recently compiled a list of the 5 Stocks That Started The Year On A High. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Akero Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) stands against the other stocks.

Anyone who’s looked at the market in the last couple of weeks will know that there were some events that shook investors. The revelation of DeepSeek AI’s capabilities resulted in record amounts wiped out from the valuations of many chip makers. Analysts have since then questioned the claims made by the Chinese, but most of the stocks haven’t been able to recover.

While geo-political issues looked to be dying down, Donald Trump initiated a tariff war by slapping tariffs on China, Mexico, and Canada. As a result, many stocks continue to tumble.

Despite all the above, the stock market boasted the best first 9 days of trading in a new presidential term since Barack Obama’s term started in 2013. This is incredible and continues to show the strength of the US economy.

We decided to come up with a list of stocks that helped the market post these amazing returns. To come up with our list of 5 stocks that started the year on a high, we only considered stocks with a market cap of at least $3 billion that outperformed the market in the month of January.

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

Akero Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Akero Therapeutics Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company that develops transformative treatments for serious metabolic diseases. The company’s key product is efruxifermin (EFX) which is going through phase 3 of clinical trials. It was news related to this particular medication that caused the stock to surge 94% in January.

The company announced positive results of the Phase 2b study of EFX, a treatment for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, also referred to as MASH. The drug was well-received by participants with only minor adverse effects and no deaths reported.

Investors are likely to continue receiving the benefits of this development despite the massive price appreciation in January. This was further confirmed by Bank of America when it upgraded the stock from Neutral to Buy, raising the price target to $63 from the previous price target of $35. The stock last closed at $54.08 on Friday.

Overall AKRO ranks 1st on our list of the stocks that started the year on a high. While we acknowledge the potential of AKRO as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some 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 as promising as 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 Stocks To Buy Now and Complete List of 59 AI Companies Under $2 Billion in Market Cap

 

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