Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) Receives “Hold” Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on ESPR. HC Wainwright downgraded Esperion Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $3.16 price target for the company. in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Esperion Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Esperion Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Citizens Jmp increased their price objective on Esperion Therapeutics from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.54.

Esperion Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of Esperion Therapeutics stock traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $3.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 28,540,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,045,173. Esperion Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $0.69 and a 12 month high of $4.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $2.55 and a 200 day moving average of $3.08. The company has a market capitalization of $801.80 million, a PE ratio of -18.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.91.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $168.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $165.12 million. Equities analysts expect that Esperion Therapeutics will post 0.05 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESPR. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $278,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 3.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,583,988 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,513,000 after purchasing an additional 137,691 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 16.8% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 275,688 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 39,658 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 93.3% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 493,929 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $486,000 after purchasing an additional 238,449 shares during the last quarter. 47.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Esperion Therapeutics

Esperion Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of oral, low–density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C)–lowering therapies. The company’s research and development efforts center on small-molecule compounds designed to address atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease by targeting cholesterol biosynthesis pathways. Esperion seeks to provide novel treatment options for patients who require additional LDL-C reduction beyond what is achieved with statins or who are statin-intolerant.

The company’s lead products include NEXLETOL (bempedoic acid), an oral adenosine triphosphate–citrate lyase (ACL) inhibitor approved by the U.S.