Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. $ESPR Holdings Raised by Invesco Ltd.

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Esperion Therapeutics by 161.1%, owning 255,480 shares valued at approximately $368,000 after acquiring an additional 157,647 shares in the 1st quarter.
• Esperion Therapeutics has attracted significant interest from institutional investors, with 47.39% of the stock currently held by these entities.
• HC Wainwright set a target price of $16.00 for Esperion shares, even as the stock has also seen downgrades, reflecting mixed analyst sentiment with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR - Free Report) by 161.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 255,480 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 157,647 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.13% of Esperion Therapeutics worth $368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 3,496.3% during the first quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 31,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 30,138 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 33.2% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 40,106 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Crestline Management LP acquired a new position in Esperion Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $63,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 66.3% in the first quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 50,172 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SLT Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 66.7% during the first quarter. SLT Holdings LLC now owns 50,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESPR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Esperion Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Esperion Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $7.00.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ ESPR traded up $0.19 on Thursday, reaching $2.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,372,104 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,856,291. Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $0.69 and a twelve month high of $3.94. The firm's 50 day moving average is $1.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.38. The stock has a market cap of $562.52 million, a PE ratio of -5.69, a PEG ratio of 58.40 and a beta of 0.89.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 35.84% and a negative return on equity of 0.91%. The business had revenue of $82.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.55 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.