Short Interest in Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR) Rises By 27.0%

Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 32,350,000 shares, an increase of 27.0% from the December 15th total of 25,470,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,630,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.7 days. Approximately 16.6% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ESPR shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 price objective on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Esperion Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $8.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $4.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Esperion Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.30.

Esperion Therapeutics Price Performance

Esperion Therapeutics stock traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $2.21. 2,549,121 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,249,790. Esperion Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $1.58 and a fifty-two week high of $3.94. The stock has a market cap of $435.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.18.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Esperion Therapeutics by 96.6% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 151,482 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 74,433 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 1.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,069,117 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,414,000 after acquiring an additional 19,588 shares during the period. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC acquired a new position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $73,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 99.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 309,671 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $510,000 after acquiring an additional 154,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 4.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,331,314 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,148,000 after acquiring an additional 171,609 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.