Brokerages Set Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR) PT at $7.20

Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $7.20.

ESPR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Esperion Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $9.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th.

Esperion Therapeutics Price Performance

Esperion Therapeutics stock opened at $3.69 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2.46. The stock has a market cap of $882.13 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.38 and a beta of 1.01. Esperion Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $0.69 and a 1-year high of $4.13.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $87.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.33 million. Equities analysts expect that Esperion Therapeutics will post -0.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Esperion Therapeutics

In other news, CFO Benjamin Halladay sold 7,337 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.67, for a total transaction of $26,926.79. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 467,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,715,816.75. The trade was a 1.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Esperion Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ESPR. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,092,449 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,045,000 after purchasing an additional 375,620 shares during the period. Two Seas Capital LP boosted its stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 43.6% in the second quarter. Two Seas Capital LP now owns 9,954,975 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,800,000 after buying an additional 3,024,104 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Esperion Therapeutics by 46.2% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,312,252 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,206,000 after acquiring an additional 1,679,294 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 3.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,583,988 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,513,000 after acquiring an additional 137,691 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AIGH Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Esperion Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $7,950,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.39% of the company’s stock.

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.