Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) Trading Down 13.1% After Earnings Miss

Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR) shares were down 13.1% during trading on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $2.42 and last traded at $2.5550. Approximately 7,056,919 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 32% from the average daily volume of 5,342,965 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.94.

The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $87.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.33 million.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Friday, September 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Esperion Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Esperion Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ESPR. Two Seas Capital LP increased its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 43.6% during the second quarter. Two Seas Capital LP now owns 9,954,975 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,800,000 after acquiring an additional 3,024,104 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 46.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,312,252 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,206,000 after acquiring an additional 1,679,294 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,583,988 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,513,000 after buying an additional 137,691 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth about $4,446,000. Finally, AIGH Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Esperion Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth about $7,950,000. Institutional investors own 47.39% of the company’s stock.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $517.16 million, a P/E ratio of -5.22 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $2.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.75.

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.