Needham & Company LLC Reiterates Buy Rating for Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR)

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $5.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Needham & Company LLC's target price indicates a potential upside of 431.80% from the company's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $4.00 target price (down previously from $7.00) on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Esperion Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $6.42.

Esperion Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of Esperion Therapeutics stock traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $0.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,006,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,643,095. Esperion Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $0.82 and a 12 month high of $3.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1.36 and a 200 day moving average of $1.94. The company has a market capitalization of $186.30 million, a PE ratio of -1.47 and a beta of 0.86.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Esperion Therapeutics

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