Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) CFO Sells $19,799.26 in Stock

Key Points

• CFO Benjamin Halladay sold 7,046 shares of Esperion Therapeutics stock for approximately $19,799, reducing his ownership by 1.46% to 474,862 shares valued at over $1.3 million.
• Esperion's stock price recently reached $2.75, up from a low of $0.69 in the past year, while the company reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue of $82.39 million.
• Analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Esperion, with four analysts recommending a buy and a price target of $7.00.

Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR - Get Free Report) CFO Benjamin Halladay sold 7,046 shares of Esperion Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.81, for a total transaction of $19,799.26. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 474,862 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,334,362.22. This represents a 1.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Benjamin Halladay also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, July 17th, Benjamin Halladay sold 11 shares of Esperion Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.11, for a total transaction of $12.21.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Down 3.3%

Shares of ESPR traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $2.66. 10,708,890 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,327,483. Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $0.69 and a twelve month high of $3.94. The stock has a market cap of $536.31 million, a PE ratio of -5.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 59.75 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $1.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.42.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.15. Esperion Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 35.84% and a negative return on equity of 0.91%. The business had revenue of $82.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.55 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.29 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Esperion Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research note on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $7.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,446,000. Two Seas Capital LP lifted its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 43.6% during the 2nd quarter. Two Seas Capital LP now owns 9,954,975 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $9,800,000 after buying an additional 3,024,104 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 46.2% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,312,252 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $5,206,000 after buying an additional 1,679,294 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 48.6% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 3,119,253 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $6,862,000 after buying an additional 1,020,243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 45.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,629,980 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,586,000 after buying an additional 506,428 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.39% of the company's stock.

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 (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.