StockNews.com Upgrades Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) to Buy

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

A number of other research firms have also commented on ESPR. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Esperion Therapeutics from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank of America lowered shares of Esperion Therapeutics from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price target for the company from $2.90 to $2.50 in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Esperion Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $8.17.

Esperion Therapeutics Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of ESPR stock traded up $0.04 on Tuesday, reaching $2.13. The company had a trading volume of 1,650,298 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,360,759. The company has a 50-day moving average of $1.82 and a 200-day moving average of $2.17. Esperion Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $0.71 and a 12 month high of $3.40. The stock has a market cap of $403.55 million, a PE ratio of -2.16 and a beta of 1.00.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $73.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.90 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Esperion Therapeutics will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Esperion Therapeutics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BOKF NA bought a new stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $26,000. Xponance Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. CVI Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Esperion Therapeutics by 115.9% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 19,050 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 10,225 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.39% of the company's stock.

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.