Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 38,090,000 shares, a decrease of 5.8% from the August 31st total of 40,440,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,490,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.9 days. Currently, 19.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of ESPR stock opened at $1.61 on Wednesday. Esperion Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $0.70 and a twelve month high of $3.40. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $1.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $305.03 million, a P/E ratio of -1.63 and a beta of 1.00.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $73.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.90 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Esperion Therapeutics will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on Esperion Therapeutics from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, August 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Esperion Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Esperion Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $2.90 to $2.50 in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Esperion Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.17.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Esperion Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bellevue Group AG raised its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 136.5% during the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 9,944,064 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,650,000 after purchasing an additional 5,739,800 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 2.7% during the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 9,129,647 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $24,467,000 after acquiring an additional 238,544 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 71.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,826,546 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $23,655,000 after acquiring an additional 3,688,796 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Esperion Therapeutics by 94.2% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,303,596 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,554,000 after acquiring an additional 2,087,635 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Esperion Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,568,000. 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.