Simplicity Solutions LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR)

Simplicity Solutions LLC reduced its stake in Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR) by 20.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,398 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 6,104 shares during the period. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in Esperion Therapeutics were worth $73,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ESPR. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in Esperion Therapeutics by 95.0% in the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 13,354,186 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $21,233,000 after buying an additional 6,505,808 shares during the period. Armistice Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Esperion Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $5,850,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Esperion Therapeutics by 429.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,264,359 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,219,000 after buying an additional 1,836,567 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Esperion Therapeutics by 27.6% during the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors Inc. now owns 8,147,380 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $37,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,761,117 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Esperion Therapeutics by 116.8% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,706,290 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $17,212,000 after purchasing an additional 1,457,952 shares during the period. 47.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Performance

ESPR stock opened at $1.95 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $2.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $1.97. Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $0.70 and a fifty-two week high of $3.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $369.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.92 and a beta of 0.84.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.50) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.53) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $32.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.84 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.76) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESPR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America lowered shares of Esperion Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 price target on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Esperion Therapeutics has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.33.

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.