Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Esperion Therapeutics has a consensus analyst rating of “Hold”, with six hold ratings, one sell, and one buy. The average 12-month price target from brokerages is $5.54.
• Recent analyst actions were mostly negative, including downgrades from Jefferies, HC Wainwright, Piper Sandler, and Cantor Fitzgerald, along with a reiterated sell rating from Weiss Ratings.
• Insiders sold shares in June, while institutional investors have been active; meanwhile, the company recently reported a Q1 earnings miss with EPS of -$0.10 versus expectations of -$0.02 and revenue of $80.1 million versus $84.52 million expected.

Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the eight brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $5.54.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Esperion Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. HC Wainwright lowered shares of Esperion Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $3.16 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Esperion Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Esperion Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Benjamin Halladay sold 10,773 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.15, for a total transaction of $33,934.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 702,829 shares in the company, valued at $2,213,911.35. This trade represents a 1.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Benjamin Looker sold 11,824 shares of Esperion Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.15, for a total value of $37,245.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 667,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,102,700.60. This represents a 1.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new position in Esperion Therapeutics during the first quarter worth $278,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Esperion Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 3.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,583,988 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,513,000 after acquiring an additional 137,691 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 16.8% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 275,688 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 39,658 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Esperion Therapeutics by 93.3% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 493,929 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $486,000 after acquiring an additional 238,449 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.39% of the company's stock.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of ESPR opened at $3.18 on Thursday. Esperion Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $1.10 and a 52 week high of $4.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $819.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -53.00 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $3.15 and a 200-day moving average of $3.03.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $80.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.52 million. Esperion Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 0.14% and a net margin of 0.12%.

About Esperion Therapeutics

Esperion Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of oral, low–density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C)–lowering therapies. The company's research and development efforts center on small-molecule compounds designed to address atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease by targeting cholesterol biosynthesis pathways. Esperion seeks to provide novel treatment options for patients who require additional LDL-C reduction beyond what is achieved with statins or who are statin-intolerant.

The company's lead products include NEXLETOL (bempedoic acid), an oral adenosine triphosphate–citrate lyase (ACL) inhibitor approved by the U.S.

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