Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB Trims Stock Position in Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR)

Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB cut its stake in Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,915,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 60,000 shares during the quarter. Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB owned about 0.97% of Esperion Therapeutics worth $4,213,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Esperion Therapeutics in the third quarter worth about $94,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 152.7% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 123,333 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 74,522 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 47.1% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 71,050 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 22,734 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 2.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,854,314 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,360,000 after purchasing an additional 99,802 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Esperion Therapeutics by 66.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 602,936 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $995,000 after purchasing an additional 241,512 shares during the period. 47.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ESPR opened at $1.23 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $243.35 million, a PE ratio of -1.92 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $1.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.05. Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $1.17 and a 52-week high of $3.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESPR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 price objective on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $4.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $8.00 target price for the company. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $4.00 price target (down from $7.00) on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Esperion Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.