Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $5.54.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ESPR shares. Needham & Company LLC lowered Esperion Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Citizens Jmp lowered Esperion Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. HC Wainwright lowered Esperion Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $3.16 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Esperion Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Esperion Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Esperion Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Esperion Therapeutics by 68.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 945,491 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,506,000 after purchasing an additional 384,095 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP bought a new position in Esperion Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at $6,078,000. AIGH Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Esperion Therapeutics by 33.3% during the 4th quarter. AIGH Capital Management LLC now owns 4,000,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $14,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Integral Health Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Esperion Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,975,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Esperion Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at $476,000. 47.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Esperion Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of ESPR stock opened at $3.12 on Wednesday. Esperion Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $0.79 and a 12-month high of $4.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $803.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -52.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3.11.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.08). Esperion Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 0.14% and a net margin of 0.12%.The business had revenue of $80.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.52 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Esperion Therapeutics will post 0.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.