Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $9.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Esperion Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.20.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ESPR opened at $3.50 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $836.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.00, a P/E/G ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $3.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.86. Esperion Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $0.69 and a fifty-two week high of $4.18.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $87.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.33 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Esperion Therapeutics will post -0.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Benjamin Halladay sold 7,337 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.67, for a total transaction of $26,926.79. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 467,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,715,816.75. This represents a 1.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,543 shares of company stock worth $55,709. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ESPR. AIGH Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. AIGH Capital Management LLC now owns 4,000,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $14,800,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,000 shares during the last quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. raised its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 45,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $166,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd lifted its stake in Esperion Therapeutics by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 15,173 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 2,890 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,945,454 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $55,298,000 after buying an additional 2,853,005 shares during the period. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 38,955 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $144,000 after buying an additional 3,614 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 47.39% of the company’s stock.

Esperion Therapeutics Company Profile

Esperion Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of oral, low–density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C)–lowering therapies. The company’s research and development efforts center on small-molecule compounds designed to address atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease by targeting cholesterol biosynthesis pathways. Esperion seeks to provide novel treatment options for patients who require additional LDL-C reduction beyond what is achieved with statins or who are statin-intolerant.

The company’s lead products include NEXLETOL (bempedoic acid), an oral adenosine triphosphate–citrate lyase (ACL) inhibitor approved by the U.S.