Investors Purchase Large Volume of Esperion Therapeutics Call Options (NASDAQ:ESPR)

Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders bought 6,387 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 60% compared to the average volume of 3,991 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on ESPR shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $8.00 target price on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Esperion Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.33.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ESPR opened at $2.04 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $2.31 and its 200 day moving average is $2.07. Esperion Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $0.70 and a 52-week high of $3.40. The firm has a market cap of $386.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.96 and a beta of 0.89.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $32.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.84 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.76) EPS. Equities analysts predict that Esperion Therapeutics will post -0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Armistice Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Esperion Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,568,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 159.1% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 1,116,655 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,094,000 after acquiring an additional 685,733 shares in the last quarter. Monaco Asset Management SAM increased its stake in Esperion Therapeutics by 68.5% in the third quarter. Monaco Asset Management SAM now owns 1,171,779 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,148,000 after acquiring an additional 476,477 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its position in Esperion Therapeutics by 2.7% during the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 9,129,647 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $24,467,000 after purchasing an additional 238,544 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Esperion Therapeutics by 120.1% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 413,704 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 225,767 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.