Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) Downgraded by Northland Securities

Northland Securities cut shares of Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR – Get Rating) from a market perform rating to an under perform rating in a report published on Thursday, The Fly reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on ESPR. JMP Securities reiterated a market outperform rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, March 6th. Credit Suisse Group raised shares of Esperion Therapeutics from an underperform rating to a neutral rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $6.50 to $7.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 7th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Esperion Therapeutics from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $8.00 to $1.50 in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Thursday. They issued a hold rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Esperion Therapeutics from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Esperion Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $11.17.

Esperion Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ESPR opened at $1.55 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.67. Esperion Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $1.26 and a 1-year high of $8.87.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 21st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.76) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.87) by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $18.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.60 million. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($1.77) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Esperion Therapeutics will post -2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Esperion Therapeutics news, CEO Sheldon L. Koenig sold 5,441 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.06, for a total value of $27,531.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 194,815 shares in the company, valued at approximately $985,763.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Esperion Therapeutics news, General Counsel Benjamin Looker sold 6,347 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.00, for a total value of $44,429.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 64,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $451,171. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sheldon L. Koenig sold 5,441 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.06, for a total transaction of $27,531.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 194,815 shares in the company, valued at $985,763.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,069 shares of company stock worth $105,990 in the last three months. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Esperion Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wasatch Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 27.6% during the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors Inc. now owns 8,147,380 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $37,804,000 after buying an additional 1,761,117 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 19.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,491,530 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $20,841,000 after buying an additional 730,091 shares in the last quarter. Braidwell LP purchased a new stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $21,141,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 116.8% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,706,290 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $17,212,000 after buying an additional 1,457,952 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ikarian Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $13,067,000. 85.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Esperion Therapeutics Company Profile

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Esperion Therapeutics, Inc is a pharmaceutical company. It engages in the development and commercialization of oral therapies for the treatment of patients with elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. The firm offers NEXLETOL (bempedoic acid) tablets, and NEXLIZET (bempedoic acid and ezetimibe) tablets.