Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) Upgraded to "Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Esperion Therapeutics has been upgraded from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting a positive shift in analyst sentiment.
• The stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $7.00, despite a recent target price cut by Needham & Company to $4.00.
• Esperion reported a quarterly EPS of ($0.02), surpassing expectations, with revenues of $82.39 million, indicating strong performance despite historical losses.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Sunday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on Esperion Therapeutics from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Esperion Therapeutics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $7.00.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ESPR traded up $0.0050 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $2.0450. 2,322,078 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,803,883. The firm has a market capitalization of $412.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.17 and a beta of 0.82. Esperion Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $0.69 and a 52-week high of $3.94. The company's 50-day moving average is $1.36 and its 200-day moving average is $1.32.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.55 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Esperion Therapeutics will post -0.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Esperion Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 72,705 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 4,979 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 33.2% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 40,106 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 29.5% during the 2nd quarter. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC now owns 45,306 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 10,309 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 97,833 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 13,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 16,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.39% of the company's stock.

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.