Esperion Therapeutics’ (ESPR) “Market Outperform” Rating Reiterated at JMP Securities

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR)‘s stock had its “market outperform” rating reissued by equities research analysts at JMP Securities in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $7.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. JMP Securities’ target price points to a potential upside of 229.41% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on ESPR. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 price target on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, December 13th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $8.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut Esperion Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $4.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Esperion Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.25.

Esperion Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ESPR traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $2.13. The company had a trading volume of 484,777 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,795,007. The stock has a market cap of $418.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.34 and a beta of 1.03. Esperion Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $1.58 and a 12 month high of $3.94. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.18.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $51.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.44 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.37) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Esperion Therapeutics will post -0.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Esperion Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ESPR. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics in the third quarter worth $27,000. Xponance Inc. acquired a new stake in Esperion Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in Esperion Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at $44,000. American Century Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in Esperion Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new stake in Esperion Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.