StockNews.com Upgrades Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) to “Buy”

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America cut shares of Esperion Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $2.90 to $2.50 in a report on Thursday, June 20th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Esperion Therapeutics from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.17.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Performance

Esperion Therapeutics stock opened at $2.16 on Friday. Esperion Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $0.70 and a fifty-two week high of $3.40. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.20. The stock has a market cap of $409.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.18 and a beta of 1.00.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $73.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $51.90 million. On average, analysts predict that Esperion Therapeutics will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Esperion Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ESPR. BOKF NA purchased a new stake in Esperion Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Xponance Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. CVI Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Esperion Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 115.9% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 19,050 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 10,225 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.