Short Interest in Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR) Declines By 5.2%

Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 18,220,000 shares, a decrease of 5.2% from the October 15th total of 19,220,000 shares. Currently, 17.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,810,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.8 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on ESPR shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Esperion Therapeutics from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 7th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Monday, November 13th. Finally, Northland Securities raised shares of Esperion Therapeutics from an “under perform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Esperion Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Esperion Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ESPR. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 12,490 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 1,960 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 30.0% in the second quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,669 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 2,003 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 18.9% in the second quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 16,454 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 2,610 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 15,671 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 2,619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American International Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 34,887 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $217,000 after acquiring an additional 3,263 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.76% of the company’s stock.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Up 7.2 %

NASDAQ:ESPR opened at $1.19 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $135.32 million, a P/E ratio of -0.50 and a beta of 0.30. Esperion Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $0.70 and a fifty-two week high of $8.87. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $0.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.32.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.37) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $33.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.84 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.81) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Esperion Therapeutics will post -1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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. Its lead product candidates are NEXLETOL (bempedoic acid) and NEXLIZET (bempedoic acid and ezetimibe) tablets for the treatment of patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease or heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia.