Brokerages Set Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR) Price Target at $9.33

Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $9.33.

ESPR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America cut Esperion Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 price objective on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, March 25th.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Down 4.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ ESPR opened at $1.90 on Friday. Esperion Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $0.70 and a twelve month high of $3.40. The company’s fifty day moving average is $2.40 and its 200-day moving average is $1.99. The stock has a market cap of $359.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.90 and a beta of 0.84.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.50) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $32.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.84 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.76) earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Esperion Therapeutics will post -0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Esperion Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ESPR. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Esperion Therapeutics by 2.7% during the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 9,129,647 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $24,467,000 after purchasing an additional 238,544 shares during the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $9,568,000. Monaco Asset Management SAM grew its holdings in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 68.5% in the 3rd quarter. Monaco Asset Management SAM now owns 1,171,779 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,148,000 after acquiring an additional 476,477 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 1,128,149 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,373,000 after acquiring an additional 11,494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Esperion Therapeutics by 120.1% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 413,704 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 225,767 shares in the last quarter. 47.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.