Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR) shares saw strong trading volume on Tuesday . 2,385,252 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the previous session’s volume of 6,092,242 shares.The stock last traded at $2.73 and had previously closed at $2.62.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on ESPR shares. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Monday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 price objective on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research note on Monday. Finally, Bank of America cut Esperion Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.33.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Down 3.0 %

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.80.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.50) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $32.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.84 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.76) EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Esperion Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Amalgamated Bank raised its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 12,490 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 1,960 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Esperion Therapeutics by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,669 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 2,003 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Esperion Therapeutics by 18.9% during the second quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 16,454 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 2,610 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 15,671 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 2,619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American International Group Inc. raised its stake in Esperion Therapeutics by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 34,887 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $217,000 after buying an additional 3,263 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.39% of the company’s stock.

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.