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 Thursday.

ESPR has been the subject of several other research reports. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Esperion Therapeutics from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Esperion Therapeutics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.17.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Up 10.4 %

Shares of ESPR traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $2.33. The company had a trading volume of 5,881,201 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,151,375. Esperion Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $0.87 and a 52-week high of $3.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $457.22 million, a P/E ratio of -2.64 and a beta of 0.96.

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, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.10. The business had revenue of $73.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.90 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Esperion Therapeutics will post -0.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Esperion Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bellevue Group AG raised its holdings in Esperion Therapeutics by 136.5% during the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 9,944,064 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,650,000 after purchasing an additional 5,739,800 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 3,688,796 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 94.2% during the second 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 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 worth $1,271,000 after purchasing an additional 555,382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 751.6% in the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 364,681 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $810,000 after purchasing an additional 321,859 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.39% of the company’s stock.

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.