Esperion Therapeutics (ESPR) Has Notable New Fan at the FDA and Should Be Bought on Weakness - Barclays

After losing 19% Wednesday amid labeling and other concerns arising from the PCSK9 FDA AdCom panel discussion, weakness in Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ESPR) is continuing today with stock off another 2.6%. Despite the weak stock action, many sell-side analysts have come out to defend the name. Barclays was the latest, and today brought with it an interesting new angle to be bullish on the company's prospects - the new Deputy FDA Commissioner, Dr. Califf.

"We believe the regulatory path for LDL-lowering drugs, including ESPR's ETC-1002, has a solid chance to remain intact considering the person earmarked to be the next FDA commissioner led the recent IMPROVE IT trial that confirmed the LDL Hypothesis," the analyst said in a note to clients today. "Dr. Califf also was senior author of an Apr 2015 Journal of the American College of Cardiology "State of the Art Review" outlining ways to improve/streamline cardiovascular drug development."

"We believe the development path of cardiovascular drugs, including ESPR's ETC-1002, will only be bolstered by Dr. Califf's presence, and his role in validating the LDL-hypothesis should help moderate the concerns driven by the PCSK9'S AdComm panel questioning of this hypothesis over the past 2 days," the analyst added.

The firm maintained an Overweight rating and price target of $150 on ESPR.

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Esperion Therapeutics click here. For more ratings news on Esperion Therapeutics click here.

Shares of Esperion Therapeutics closed at $81.68 yesterday.

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