HC Wainwright Reiterates Buy Rating for Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR)

HC Wainwright reiterated their buy rating on shares of Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR - Free Report) in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $16.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company's stock.

ESPR has been the topic of several other research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $8.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $6.00 price target on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com lowered Esperion Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $4.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Esperion Therapeutics has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $7.25.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Down 5.5 %

Shares of ESPR traded down $0.12 during trading on Thursday, reaching $2.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,728,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,153,510. Esperion Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $1.58 and a twelve month high of $3.94. The company has a market cap of $409.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.24 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a fifty day moving average of $2.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.18.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $51.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.44 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.37) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Esperion Therapeutics will post -0.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Esperion Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $606,000. Anson Funds Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth $540,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 71.0% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 711,278 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 295,378 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 66.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 602,936 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $995,000 after purchasing an additional 241,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 38.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 23,346,013 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $38,521,000 after purchasing an additional 6,483,070 shares during the period. 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.