StockNews.com Upgrades Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) to Buy

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

ESPR has been the topic of a number of 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 decreased their price target on shares of Esperion Therapeutics from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.17.

Esperion Therapeutics Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ ESPR opened at $2.10 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $397.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.12 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $1.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.13. Esperion Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $0.71 and a 52 week high of $3.40.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.10. The business had revenue of $73.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $51.90 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Esperion Therapeutics will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Esperion Therapeutics

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bellevue Group AG boosted its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 136.5% in the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 9,944,064 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,650,000 after acquiring an additional 5,739,800 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 9,129,647 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $24,467,000 after buying an additional 238,544 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 71.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,826,546 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $23,655,000 after buying an additional 3,688,796 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 94.2% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,303,596 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,554,000 after buying an additional 2,087,635 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 3,278.3% in 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 buying an additional 555,382 shares during the period. 47.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.