Investors Purchase Large Volume of Esperion Therapeutics Call Options (NASDAQ:ESPR)

Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 6,387 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 60% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,991 call options.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of ESPR opened at $2.37 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $2.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $448.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.12 and a beta of 0.89. Esperion Therapeutics has a one year low of $0.70 and a one year high of $3.40.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ESPR shares. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Monday, March 25th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 target price on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday. Four 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, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 120.1% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 413,704 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 225,767 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 159.1% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 1,116,655 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,094,000 after acquiring an additional 685,733 shares during the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 161.5% in the 4th quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 17,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 10,500 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $181,000. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. 47.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.