Needham & Company LLC Reaffirms Buy Rating for Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR)

Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR - Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $8.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company's stock.

ESPR has been the subject of a number of other reports. Bank of America cut shares of Esperion Therapeutics from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $9.33.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Performance

ESPR traded down $0.27 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $2.52. 8,970,966 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,827,735. The stock has a market cap of $466.33 million, a P/E ratio of -1.19 and a beta of 0.84. Esperion Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $0.70 and a twelve month high of $3.40. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $2.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.91.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Esperion Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 120.1% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 413,704 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 225,767 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 159.1% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 1,116,655 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,094,000 after purchasing an additional 685,733 shares during the period. Simplicity Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Esperion Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 15.7% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 289,123 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 39,285 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Esperion Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 47.39% of the company's stock.

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.