Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) Trading Up 13.2% – Here’s Why

Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR) traded up 13.2% on Monday . The company traded as high as $2.60 and last traded at $2.58. 5,362,361 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 13% from the average session volume of 6,161,818 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.28.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ESPR. StockNews.com upgraded Esperion Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on Esperion Therapeutics from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Friday, November 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.17.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $439.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.48 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $1.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.14.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $73.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.90 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bellevue Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 136.5% in the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 9,944,064 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,650,000 after purchasing an additional 5,739,800 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Esperion Therapeutics by 71.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,826,546 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $23,655,000 after buying an additional 3,688,796 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Esperion Therapeutics by 94.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,303,596 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,554,000 after acquiring an additional 2,087,635 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 3,278.3% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 572,323 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,271,000 after acquiring an additional 555,382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics during the second quarter worth approximately $758,000. 47.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.