Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Esperion Therapeutics has been downgraded from a "buy" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen.
• Needham & Company has reduced its price target for the stock from $5.00 to $4.00, while HC Wainwright maintains a "buy" rating with a price target of $16.00.
• The company's stock is currently trading at $2.17, with a consensus price target of $7.00 and a reported negative net margin of 35.84%.

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Monday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ESPR. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Esperion Therapeutics from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $7.00.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of ESPR traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $2.22. 8,188,323 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,151,438. The firm has a market cap of $447.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.53 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1.34. Esperion Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $0.69 and a 12-month high of $3.94.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Esperion Therapeutics

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at $4,446,000. Two Seas Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 43.6% during the second quarter. Two Seas Capital LP now owns 9,954,975 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $9,800,000 after acquiring an additional 3,024,104 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Esperion Therapeutics by 46.2% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,312,252 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $5,206,000 after buying an additional 1,679,294 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Esperion Therapeutics by 48.6% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 3,119,253 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $6,862,000 after buying an additional 1,020,243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Esperion Therapeutics by 45.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,629,980 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,586,000 after buying an additional 506,428 shares in the last quarter. 47.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.