Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) Shares Down 3.1%

Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 3.1% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $3.12 and last traded at $3.14. Approximately 3,076,592 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 6,733,896 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.24.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $8.00 price objective on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Esperion Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $9.33.

Esperion Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $2.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $560.70 million, a PE ratio of -1.43 and a beta of 0.84.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $32.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.84 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.76) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 95.0% during the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 13,354,186 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $21,233,000 after acquiring an additional 6,505,808 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Esperion Therapeutics by 27.6% in the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors Inc. now owns 8,147,380 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $37,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,761,117 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,137,750 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $15,362,000 after buying an additional 396,388 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Esperion Therapeutics by 39.1% during the 1st quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 4,771,360 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $7,586,000 after acquiring an additional 1,342,223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new position in Esperion Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $5,850,000. 47.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Esperion Therapeutics Company 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.