Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Friday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Esperion Therapeutics from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $8.17.

Esperion Therapeutics Price Performance

ESPR stock traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $2.06. The stock had a trading volume of 3,219,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,162,736. Esperion Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $1.04 and a 1-year high of $3.40. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2.14.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $73.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.90 million. On average, analysts expect that Esperion Therapeutics will post -0.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 38.4% during the third 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 last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 47.1% during the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 71,050 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 22,734 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 152.7% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 123,333 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 74,522 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $94,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 71.0% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 711,278 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,174,000 after buying an additional 295,378 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.39% of the company's stock.

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.