Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Acquires New Stake in Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 367,373 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $606,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned 0.19% of Esperion Therapeutics at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Anson Funds Management LP bought a new stake in Esperion Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $540,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 71.0% in 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 during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its position in 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 buying an additional 6,483,070 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Esperion Therapeutics by 66.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 602,936 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $995,000 after buying an additional 241,512 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Esperion Therapeutics by 152.7% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 123,333 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 74,522 shares in the last quarter. 47.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESPR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $6.00 price objective on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Friday, December 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $8.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $4.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Esperion Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $7.30.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Up 0.9 %

ESPR stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $2.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,135,917 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,377,633. The stock has a market cap of $431.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.42 and a beta of 1.01. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $2.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.22. Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $1.58 and a 1 year high of $3.94.

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.