StockNews.com Downgrades Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) to Hold

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on ESPR. Needham & Company LLC reduced 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. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.17.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ESPR opened at $2.12 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $1.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.14. Esperion Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $1.04 and a 1-year high of $3.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $417.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.31 and a beta of 0.96.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Esperion Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 38.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 23,346,013 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $38,521,000 after purchasing an additional 6,483,070 shares during the last quarter. Bellevue Group AG grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 5,739,800 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 71.8% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,331,314 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,148,000 after acquiring an additional 171,609 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted 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 valued at $9,554,000 after acquiring an additional 2,087,635 shares in the last quarter. 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.