Headlands Technologies LLC Trims Stock Position in Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR)

Key Points

• Headlands Technologies LLC significantly reduced its stake in Esperion Therapeutics by 84.9%, selling 216,619 shares and leaving it with only 38,447 shares valued at $55,000.
• Institutional investors now own 47.39% of Esperion Therapeutics, with other firms such as JPMorgan Chase and Invesco increasing their holdings during the last quarter.
• Esperion Therapeutics reported a quarterly EPS of ($0.02), exceeding estimates, with revenues of $82.39 million, surpassing the $62.55 million consensus estimate.

Headlands Technologies LLC cut its stake in Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR - Free Report) by 84.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,447 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 216,619 shares during the quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC's holdings in Esperion Therapeutics were worth $55,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 3,496.3% during the 1st quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 31,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 30,138 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Crestline Management LP acquired a new position in Esperion Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. SLT Holdings LLC raised its stake in Esperion Therapeutics by 66.7% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Esperion Therapeutics by 66.3% in the 1st quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 50,172 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares during the last quarter. 47.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Down 1.0%

NASDAQ:ESPR traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $2.05. 5,517,168 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,825,969. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $406.31 million, a P/E ratio of -4.18 and a beta of 0.82. Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $0.69 and a 1 year high of $3.94.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, research analysts predict that Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.29 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on ESPR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Esperion Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Needham & Company LLC dropped 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Esperion Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $7.00.

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.