Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) Trading 7.1% Higher - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Esperion Therapeutics shares experienced a 7.1% increase in value during mid-day trading, reaching a price of $2.79, despite a significant decrease in trading volume.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed opinions on the company, with one firm downgrading it to a "hold" rating while others maintain "buy" ratings, leading to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $7.00.
• In its most recent quarterly earnings report, Esperion exceeded expectations by reporting $82.39 million in revenue, surpassing the consensus estimate of $62.55 million.

Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR - Get Free Report) shares were up 7.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $2.80 and last traded at $2.79. Approximately 1,282,316 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 4,934,244 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.60.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Esperion Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Esperion Therapeutics has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $7.00.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $1.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $1.37. The company has a market cap of $553.45 million, a P/E ratio of -5.58, a P/E/G ratio of 57.05 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Esperion Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Two Seas Capital LP raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 3,024,104 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 46.2% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,312,252 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $5,206,000 after purchasing an additional 1,679,294 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 worth $4,513,000 after purchasing an additional 137,691 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,616,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $7,956,000 after purchasing an additional 16,100 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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. 47.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Esperion Therapeutics

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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