Esperion price target lowered to $12 from $16 at Needham

Needham analyst Chad Messer lowered the firm’s price target on Esperion (ESPR) to $12 from $16 but keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The company’s interpretation of the CLEAR Outcomes trial results in its milestone payment dispute with Daiichi Sankyo (DSNKY) appears to be well-founded, but the legal dust-up will likely delay payment of the milestones and complicate its ability to finance operations, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm adds that the dispute increases financing risk but doesn’t impact Esperion’s recently-enhanced profile of Nexletol/Nexlizet, which should see an uptick in uptake.