Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) Stock Price Up 7.1% - Time to Buy?

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)'s stock price rose 7.1% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $2.80 and last traded at $2.79. Approximately 1,282,316 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 4,934,244 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.60.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ESPR shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Esperion Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Esperion Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $7.00.

Esperion Therapeutics Trading Down 0.4%

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1.39. The company has a market cap of $558.49 million, a PE ratio of -5.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 63.79 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ESPR. Two Seas Capital LP boosted its holdings in Esperion Therapeutics by 43.6% in the second quarter. Two Seas Capital LP now owns 9,954,975 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $9,800,000 after acquiring an additional 3,024,104 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 46.2% during the 2nd 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 boosted its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 3.1% during the 2nd 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 boosted its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 0.4% during the 4th 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 boosted its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 48.6% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 3,119,253 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $6,862,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020,243 shares during the period. 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.