Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Friday.

ESPR has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $9.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.20.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of ESPR traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $3.14. The company had a trading volume of 4,295,772 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,015,499. The company has a market capitalization of $750.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.47 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $3.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.74. Esperion Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $0.69 and a 52 week high of $4.18.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $87.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.33 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Esperion Therapeutics will post -0.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Esperion Therapeutics news, CFO Benjamin Halladay sold 7,337 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.67, for a total value of $26,926.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 467,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,715,816.75. The trade was a 1.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,543 shares of company stock valued at $55,709. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Esperion Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESPR. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 209.2% during the third quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 9,430 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 6,380 shares during the last quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. bought a new stake in Esperion Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Esperion Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC purchased a new stake in Esperion Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. 47.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Esperion Therapeutics

Esperion Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of oral, low–density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C)–lowering therapies. The company’s research and development efforts center on small-molecule compounds designed to address atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease by targeting cholesterol biosynthesis pathways. Esperion seeks to provide novel treatment options for patients who require additional LDL-C reduction beyond what is achieved with statins or who are statin-intolerant.

The company’s lead products include NEXLETOL (bempedoic acid), an oral adenosine triphosphate–citrate lyase (ACL) inhibitor approved by the U.S.