Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR) shares gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $2.00, but opened at $3.13. Esperion Therapeutics shares last traded at $3.1150, with a volume of 91,952,489 shares.

Key Esperion Therapeutics News

Here are the key news stories impacting Esperion Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Archimed agreed to take Esperion private for up to $1.1 billion, offering $3.16 per share in cash plus up to $100M in milestone payments — a clear near-term liquidity event that drove the stock higher. Archimed to take Esperion private in $1.1 billion deal Esperion to be Acquired by ARCHIMED
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually heavy call-option buying (roughly 7,568 calls, ?212% above average) suggests speculative or institutional interest betting on further upside or volatility around the deal. (No article link provided.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading in ESPR was temporarily halted before the market opened for a “news pending” announcement, consistent with the company/market processing the acquisition disclosure and analysts’ reactions.
• Negative Sentiment: Two investor?rights firms (Halper Sadeh LLC and Ademi LLP) have launched investigations into whether Esperion shareholders are receiving a fair price in the sale, which could lead to litigation or a challenge to deal terms and add execution risk. Halper Sadeh investigation Ademi LLP investigation
• Negative Sentiment: HC Wainwright downgraded ESPR from “buy” to “neutral,” increasing analyst skepticism about deal valuation or future upside for remaining optionality; downgrades can weigh on post?announcement trading. (Downgrade reported in market feed.)

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Esperion Therapeutics from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Citizens Jmp raised their price objective on shares of Esperion Therapeutics from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. HC Wainwright cut shares of Esperion Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Esperion Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $8.75.

Esperion Therapeutics Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3.07. The firm has a market cap of $801.80 million, a PE ratio of -18.32, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.17.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $168.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $165.12 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. will post 0.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Esperion Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ESPR. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its stake in Esperion Therapeutics by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 15,768,897 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $43,207,000 after purchasing an additional 6,323,138 shares in the last quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Esperion Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $22,072,000. Eversept Partners LP bought a new stake in Esperion Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $14,249,000. AIGH Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,950,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 303.4% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,932,274 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $14,549,000 after acquiring an additional 2,957,418 shares during the last quarter. 47.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Esperion Therapeutics

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.