Barclays PLC Purchases 154,509 Shares of Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR)

Barclays PLC grew its position in Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR) by 99.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 309,671 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 154,509 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Esperion Therapeutics were worth $510,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 38.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 23,346,013 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $38,521,000 after acquiring an additional 6,483,070 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 94.2% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,303,596 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,554,000 after purchasing an additional 2,087,635 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 3,278.3% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 572,323 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,271,000 after purchasing an additional 555,382 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $606,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Esperion Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $758,000. 47.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Esperion Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of Esperion Therapeutics stock opened at $2.20 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $2.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2.19. Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1.58 and a fifty-two week high of $3.94. The company has a market cap of $433.48 million, a PE ratio of -3.44 and a beta of 1.01.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $8.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $4.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Esperion Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $6.00 price objective on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Esperion Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.30.

Esperion Therapeutics Profile

Esperion Therapeutics, Inc, a pharmaceutical company, develops and commercializes medicines for the treatment of patients with elevated low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). Its marketed products include NEXLETOL (bempedoic acid) and NEXLIZET (bempedoic acid and ezetimibe) tablets that are oral, once-daily, non-statin medicines for the treatment of primary hyperlipidemia in adults with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia or atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease who require additional lowering of LDL-C.