Analysts Conflicted on These Healthcare Names: Esperion (ESPR) and Apollo Endosurgery Inc (APEN)


Companies in the Healthcare sector have received a lot of coverage today as analysts weigh in on Esperion (ESPR) and Apollo Endosurgery Inc (APEN).

Esperion (ESPR)

Northland Securities analyst Carl Byrnes maintained a Buy rating on Esperion today and set a price target of $65. The company’s shares closed on Friday at $43.24.

Byrnes said:

“We anticipate approval and commercialization in the 2Q20 timeframe w/ its partner Daiichi Sankyo Europe (DSE). We note that ESPR received a $150MM upfront payment in January 2019, and will receive a $150MM milestone payment upon the 1st commercial sale in the EU. The Co. is also eligible to receive commercial sales milestone payments up to $300MM (in three $100MM increments); $300MM upon label revision from the CLEAR Outcomes CVOT study; and ascending sales royalties of 15%, 20%, and 25%, respectively. IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES AND ANALYST CERTIFICATION ON PAGE 4Valuation Methodology: Esperion Therapeutics (ESPR) – Outperform / $65PT There are approximately 80MM adults in the US eligible for LDL-C reducing therapy, with over 40% of this population receiving treatment.”

According to TipRanks.com, Byrnes is currently ranked with no stars on a 0-5 star ranking scale, with an average return of -8.5% and a 17.9% success rate. Byrnes covers the Healthcare sector, focusing on stocks such as Aridis Pharmaceuticals Inc, Adamas Pharmaceuticals, and Flexion Therapeutics.

The word on The Street in general, suggests a Moderate Buy analyst consensus rating for Esperion with a $78.43 average price target, an 81.4% upside from current levels. In a report released yesterday, Cowen & Co. also maintained a Buy rating on the stock with a $94 price target.

See today’s analyst top recommended stocks >>

Apollo Endosurgery Inc (APEN)

In a report released today, Suraj Kalia from Northland Securities maintained a Hold rating on Apollo Endosurgery Inc, with a price target of $3. The company’s shares closed on Friday at $3.54, close to its 52-week low of $3.02.

According to TipRanks.com, Kalia is a 5-star analyst with an average return of 11.4% and a 59.6% success rate. Kalia covers the Healthcare sector, focusing on stocks such as Tactile Systems Technology, Varex Imaging Corporation, and Strata Skin Sciences Inc.

Apollo Endosurgery Inc has an analyst consensus of Moderate Buy, with a price target consensus of $4.25.

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