Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) Price Target Lowered to $4.00 at Needham & Company LLC

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by Needham & Company LLC from $5.00 to $4.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Needham & Company LLC's price target would indicate a potential upside of 310.05% from the company's current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on ESPR. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Esperion Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $4.00 price target (down from $7.00) on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $6.25.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Down 7.1 %

ESPR opened at $0.98 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $1.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $193.29 million, a P/E ratio of -1.52 and a beta of 0.75. Esperion Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $0.82 and a 12-month high of $3.94.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $65.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.97 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Esperion Therapeutics will post -0.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Esperion Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ESPR. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Esperion Therapeutics by 99.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 309,671 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $510,000 after purchasing an additional 154,509 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,454,216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $5,399,000 after buying an additional 385,099 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 602.8% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 173,083 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 148,456 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Esperion Therapeutics by 96.6% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 151,482 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 74,433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp increased its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 1,455.8% in the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 190,441 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 178,200 shares in the last quarter. 47.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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