Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) Earns “Buy” Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $6.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 166.67% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on ESPR. StockNews.com cut shares of Esperion Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday.

Esperion Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of ESPR opened at $2.25 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $2.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.22. Esperion Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $1.58 and a 1-year high of $3.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $443.34 million, a PE ratio of -3.52 and a beta of 1.01.

Institutional Trading of Esperion Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 45.3% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 37,414 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 11,658 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 3,278.3% during the 2nd 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 period. Summit Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 26.4% during the 2nd quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 32,687 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 6,823 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 6,560.6% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 252,038 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $560,000 after purchasing an additional 248,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Midland Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Esperion Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $133,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.39% of the company’s stock.

About Esperion Therapeutics

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.