Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on Esperion Therapeutics from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $7.00.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Down 1.0%

ESPR opened at $2.05 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $413.32 million, a PE ratio of -4.18 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50 day moving average of $1.33 and a 200-day moving average of $1.31. Esperion Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $0.69 and a 52 week high of $3.94.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.15. The company had revenue of $82.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.55 million. Esperion Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 0.91% and a negative net margin of 35.84%. Equities analysts anticipate that Esperion Therapeutics will post -0.29 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP raised its stake in Esperion Therapeutics by 139.0% during the second quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 78,715 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 45,782 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 72,705 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 4,979 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 238.3% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 485,603 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 342,067 shares in the last quarter. Diametric Capital LP increased its holdings in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 57.8% in the 2nd quarter. Diametric Capital LP now owns 678,824 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 248,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 46.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,312,252 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,206,000 after purchasing an additional 1,679,294 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.