Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ESPR. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $9.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.20.

Esperion Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of Esperion Therapeutics stock opened at $3.14 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.75. Esperion Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $0.69 and a fifty-two week high of $4.18. The firm has a market cap of $750.65 million, a P/E ratio of -6.28, a P/E/G ratio of 6.41 and a beta of 1.04.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.16) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $87.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $78.33 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Esperion Therapeutics will post -0.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Benjamin Halladay sold 7,337 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.67, for a total value of $26,926.79. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 467,525 shares in the company, valued at $1,715,816.75. This represents a 1.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,543 shares of company stock valued at $55,709. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AIGH Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $7,950,000. Two Seas Capital LP boosted its stake in Esperion Therapeutics by 43.6% in the 2nd quarter. Two Seas Capital LP now owns 9,954,975 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,800,000 after purchasing an additional 3,024,104 shares during the period. Summit Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Esperion Therapeutics by 10.2% during the 2nd quarter. Summit Wealth Group LLC now owns 323,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 30,000 shares in the last quarter. Diametric Capital LP increased its holdings in Esperion Therapeutics by 57.8% during the 2nd quarter. Diametric Capital LP now owns 678,824 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 248,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 1,739.8% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 426,866 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 403,664 shares during the period. 47.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Esperion Therapeutics Company Profile

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.