Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of Esperion Therapeutics from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.17.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ESPR opened at $2.13 on Friday. Esperion Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $0.77 and a 1 year high of $3.40. The firm has a market cap of $403.55 million, a P/E ratio of -2.15 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2.12.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $73.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $51.90 million. On average, research analysts predict that Esperion Therapeutics will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Esperion Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bellevue Group AG lifted its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 136.5% in the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 9,944,064 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,650,000 after acquiring an additional 5,739,800 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 2.7% in the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 9,129,647 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $24,467,000 after purchasing an additional 238,544 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 71.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,826,546 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $23,655,000 after purchasing an additional 3,688,796 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 94.2% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,303,596 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,554,000 after buying an additional 2,087,635 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,271,000 after buying an additional 555,382 shares in the last quarter. 47.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Esperion Therapeutics Company 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.