Shell Asset Management Co. Buys New Shares in Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR)

Shell Asset Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR – Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 6,809 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ESPR. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Esperion Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at $49,000. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 73.1% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 17,332 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 7,317 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 101.4% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 224,222 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 112,894 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Esperion Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at $163,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 72.5% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 53,717 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 22,584 shares in the last quarter. 85.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Esperion Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Esperion Therapeutics from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $9.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Credit Suisse Group upgraded Esperion Therapeutics from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $6.50 to $7.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 7th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 price objective on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, March 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Esperion Therapeutics news, insider Eric Warren sold 5,090 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.05, for a total transaction of $25,704.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 48,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $245,288.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Esperion Therapeutics news, CEO Sheldon L. Koenig bought 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1.26 per share, with a total value of $25,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 312,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $394,148.16. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric Warren sold 5,090 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.05, for a total value of $25,704.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 48,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $245,288.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,743 shares of company stock valued at $74,258 over the last ninety days. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Esperion Therapeutics Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of ESPR stock opened at $1.54 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $1.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.98. Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $1.12 and a 12-month high of $8.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.43 and a beta of 0.12.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 9th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.79) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.65) by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $24.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.93) earnings per share. Esperion Therapeutics’s revenue was up 29.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Esperion Therapeutics Company Profile

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Esperion Therapeutics, Inc is a pharmaceutical company. It engages in the development and commercialization of oral therapies for the treatment of patients with elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. The firm offers NEXLETOL (bempedoic acid) tablets, and NEXLIZET (bempedoic acid and ezetimibe) tablets.