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

Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of 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 trading volume of 5,630,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.7 days. Currently, 16.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Esperion Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ESPR traded down $0.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $2.21. The company had a trading volume of 2,549,121 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,249,790. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.18. Esperion Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $1.58 and a 12 month high of $3.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $435.46 million, a P/E ratio of -3.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 1.03.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on ESPR. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $4.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Esperion Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $8.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $6.00 target price on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Esperion Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.30.

Institutional Trading of Esperion Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESPR. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 3,278.3% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 572,323 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,271,000 after purchasing an additional 555,382 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 6,560.6% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 252,038 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $560,000 after purchasing an additional 248,254 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $50,000. BOKF NA purchased a new stake in shares of Esperion Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd grew its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 751.6% during the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 364,681 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $810,000 after purchasing an additional 321,859 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.39% of the company’s stock.

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.