Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR – Get Rating) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $11.17.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Esperion Therapeutics from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 27th. Credit Suisse Group raised shares of Esperion Therapeutics from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $6.50 to $7.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. Bank of America lowered shares of Esperion Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $8.00 to $1.50 in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday.

Insider Activity

In other Esperion Therapeutics news, General Counsel Benjamin Looker sold 6,347 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.00, for a total value of $44,429.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 64,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $451,171. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Esperion Therapeutics news, General Counsel Benjamin Looker sold 6,347 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.00, for a total value of $44,429.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 64,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $451,171. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Eric Warren sold 5,090 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.05, for a total value of $25,704.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 48,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $245,288.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,069 shares of company stock worth $105,990 in the last three months. 3.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Esperion Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ESPR. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY lifted its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 71.1% during the 3rd quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 4,032 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,675 shares during the last quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth about $49,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 30.0% during the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,669 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 2,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth about $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.87% of the company’s stock.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ESPR opened at $1.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.51 and a beta of 0.25. Esperion Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $1.26 and a 1-year high of $8.87. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $5.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.72.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 21st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.76) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.87) by $0.11. The business had revenue of $18.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.60 million. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($1.77) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Esperion Therapeutics will post -1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Esperion Therapeutics

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Esperion Therapeutics, Inc is a pharmaceutical company. It engages in the development and commercialization of oral therapies for the treatment of patients with elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. The firm offers NEXLETOL (bempedoic acid) tablets, and NEXLIZET (bempedoic acid and ezetimibe) tablets.