Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR) Short Interest Update

Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 31,240,000 shares, a decline of 8.1% from the January 15th total of 33,980,000 shares. Currently, 16.0% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,230,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.0 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Esperion Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ESPR. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Esperion Therapeutics by 38.4% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 23,346,013 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $38,521,000 after acquiring an additional 6,483,070 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Esperion Therapeutics by 48.6% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 3,119,253 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,862,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020,243 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Esperion Therapeutics by 45.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,629,980 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,586,000 after purchasing an additional 506,428 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Esperion Therapeutics by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,454,216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,399,000 after purchasing an additional 385,099 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Esperion Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $606,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.39% of the company’s stock.

Esperion Therapeutics Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ESPR traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $1.86. 1,916,671 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,878,727. The stock has a market cap of $366.49 million, a P/E ratio of -2.91 and a beta of 1.01. Esperion Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $1.58 and a 12-month high of $3.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $2.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2.11.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ESPR shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $6.00 target price on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Esperion Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $4.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $8.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.75.

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.