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

Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 32,350,000 shares, a growth of 27.0% from the December 15th total of 25,470,000 shares. Currently, 16.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,630,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.7 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Esperion Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in Esperion Therapeutics by 38.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 23,346,013 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $38,521,000 after buying an additional 6,483,070 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 94.2% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,303,596 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,554,000 after acquiring an additional 2,087,635 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 3,278.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 572,323 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,271,000 after acquiring an additional 555,382 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Esperion Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $606,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $758,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of ESPR traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $2.21. The stock had a trading volume of 2,549,121 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,249,790. The company has a market cap of $435.46 million, a P/E ratio of -3.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 1.03. Esperion Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $1.58 and a 52 week high of $3.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $2.47 and a 200 day moving average of $2.18.

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.