Nuveen LLC Purchases New Position in 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 acquired a new position in Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,087,700 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $4,446,000. Nuveen LLC owned 1.56% of Esperion Therapeutics as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESPR. Synergy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 boosted its stake 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 during the last quarter. Crestline Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. SLT Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. SLT Holdings LLC now owns 50,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 66.3% in the 1st 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. 47.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on ESPR. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Esperion Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on 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 equities 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 stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $7.00.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Up 0.5%

ESPR stock traded up $0.01 during trading on Monday, reaching $2.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,188,323 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,428,890. The company's fifty day moving average is $1.55 and its 200-day moving average is $1.33. The company has a market capitalization of $447.60 million, a P/E ratio of -4.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 49.87 and a beta of 0.89. 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 quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.02) EPS 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 business had revenue of $82.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.55 million. Analysts anticipate 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.