Short Interest in Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR) Decreases By 8.1%

Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 31,240,000 shares, a drop of 8.1% from the January 15th total of 33,980,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 6,230,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.0 days. Approximately 16.0% of the company's shares are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Esperion Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ESPR. Summit Financial LLC raised its stake in Esperion Therapeutics by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 46,528 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 7,150 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 48.6% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,172 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 9,872 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 97,833 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 13,101 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in Esperion Therapeutics by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,616,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $7,956,000 after purchasing an additional 16,100 shares during the period. Finally, Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Institutional investors own 47.39% of the company's stock.

Esperion Therapeutics Price Performance

Esperion Therapeutics stock traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $1.83. 1,961,957 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,133,931. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.10. The stock has a market cap of $359.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.85 and a beta of 1.01. Esperion Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $1.58 and a fifty-two week high of $3.94.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Esperion Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $4.00 price objective for the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $4.00 target price (down previously from $7.00) on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $8.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $6.75.

Esperion Therapeutics Company Profile

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.