Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday morning.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of 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 reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.17.

Esperion Therapeutics Price Performance

ESPR stock opened at $2.15 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $423.63 million, a PE ratio of -3.31 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.14. Esperion Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $1.15 and a 12 month high of $3.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Esperion Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ESPR. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 38.4% during 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 during the last quarter. Bellevue Group AG lifted its stake in Esperion Therapeutics by 136.5% in the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 9,944,064 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,650,000 after acquiring an additional 5,739,800 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 71.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,826,546 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $23,655,000 after acquiring an additional 3,688,796 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 94.2% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,303,596 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,554,000 after purchasing an additional 2,087,635 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 3,278.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 572,323 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,271,000 after purchasing an additional 555,382 shares during 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.