Nuveen Asset Management LLC Has $6.86 Million Stock Position in Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its position in Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR - Free Report) by 48.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,119,253 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 1,020,243 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned 1.58% of Esperion Therapeutics worth $6,862,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Esperion Therapeutics by 152.7% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 251,592 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $554,000 after buying an additional 152,019 shares in the last quarter. Crestline Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $63,000. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $145,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 45.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,629,980 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,586,000 after purchasing an additional 506,428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 153,212 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 29,879 shares in the last quarter. 47.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ESPR. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Esperion Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on Esperion Therapeutics from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $4.00 price objective (down from $7.00) on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Esperion Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $6.25.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of ESPR stock traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $0.85. 4,498,295 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,455,511. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $1.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.74. Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $0.69 and a 1-year high of $3.94. The company has a market cap of $169.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.34 and a beta of 0.75.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.21) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.18) by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $65.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $54.97 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Esperion Therapeutics 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.