Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) Given “Buy” Rating at HC Wainwright

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by research analysts at HC Wainwright in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $16.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on ESPR. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $4.00 target price (down previously from $7.00) on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Esperion Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 price objective on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $4.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $8.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.75.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Performance

Esperion Therapeutics stock traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $1.78. 2,869,202 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,999,334. Esperion Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $1.57 and a fifty-two week high of $3.94. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $2.01 and its 200-day moving average is $2.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $349.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.76 and a beta of 1.01.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14) by $0.04. Analysts predict that Esperion Therapeutics will post -0.29 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Esperion Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $606,000. Anson Funds Management LP acquired a new stake in Esperion Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $540,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Esperion Therapeutics by 71.0% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 711,278 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 295,378 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 66.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 602,936 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $995,000 after buying an additional 241,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP raised its stake in Esperion Therapeutics by 38.4% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 23,346,013 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $38,521,000 after buying an additional 6,483,070 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 47.39% of the company’s stock.

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.