Nuveen LLC Buys Shares of 3,087,700 Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. $ESPR

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired a significant stake of 3,087,700 shares in Esperion Therapeutics, valued at approximately $4.45 million, bringing their total ownership to about 1.56%.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Esperion, with HC Wainwright maintaining a "buy" rating with a target price of $16.00, while Needham & Company lowered their price target from $5.00 to $4.00.
• Esperion reported a revenue of $82.39 million for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and its stock is currently trading around $2.19.

Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 3,087,700 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $4,446,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 1.56% of Esperion Therapeutics as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Esperion Therapeutics by 3,496.3% in the first quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 31,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 30,138 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in Esperion Therapeutics by 33.2% in the first 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 last quarter. Crestline Management LP acquired a new stake in Esperion Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. SLT Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Esperion Therapeutics by 66.7% in the first quarter. SLT Holdings LLC now owns 50,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Esperion Therapeutics by 66.3% in the first quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 50,172 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares during the last quarter. 47.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on ESPR shares. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Esperion Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of Esperion Therapeutics from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $7.00.

Esperion Therapeutics Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of Esperion Therapeutics stock opened at $2.19 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $1.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.33. Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $0.69 and a 1-year high of $3.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $441.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.47 and a beta of 0.82.

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 (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 analyst estimates of $62.55 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.29 earnings per share for the current 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.

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