Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $7.25.

Several research firms recently issued reports on ESPR. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $6.00 price objective on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com cut Esperion Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. 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 price target for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $8.00 price objective on the stock.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of ESPR opened at $1.89 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $2.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.14. The company has a market capitalization of $372.41 million, a P/E ratio of -2.95 and a beta of 1.01. Esperion Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $1.58 and a fifty-two week high of $3.94.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $51.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.44 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.37) EPS. Analysts forecast that Esperion Therapeutics will post -0.28 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Esperion Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics in the third quarter worth approximately $606,000. Anson Funds Management LP acquired a new stake in Esperion Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $540,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 71.0% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 711,278 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,174,000 after buying an additional 295,378 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 66.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 602,936 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $995,000 after buying an additional 241,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 38.4% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 23,346,013 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $38,521,000 after buying an additional 6,483,070 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.