Cantor Fitzgerald Initiates Coverage on Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR)

Investment analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR - Get Free Report) in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage set an "overweight" rating and a $8.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Cantor Fitzgerald's target price would suggest a potential upside of 225.20% from the stock's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $6.00 target price on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com cut Esperion Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $8.13.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Up 5.6 %

ESPR traded up $0.13 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $2.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,506,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,392,220. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $2.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $484.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.89 and a beta of 1.01. Esperion Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $1.58 and a 12 month high of $3.94.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESPR. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC bought a new stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $73,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 99.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 309,671 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $510,000 after purchasing an additional 154,509 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 4.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,331,314 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $7,148,000 after purchasing an additional 171,609 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $606,000. Finally, Anson Funds Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $540,000. 47.39% of the stock is 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.