diff --git a/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/espresso/package.py b/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/espresso/package.py
index 63a55601374d96630a1906b1216067d23c348134..447964f2869de2a98f3fbbbf0b1a30620f58ec12 100644
--- a/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/espresso/package.py
+++ b/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/espresso/package.py
@@ -26,20 +26,28 @@
 
 import os
 
+
 class Espresso(Package):
     """
-    QE is an integrated suite of Open-Source computer codes for electronic-structure calculations and materials
-    modeling at the nanoscale. It is based on density-functional theory, plane waves, and pseudopotentials.
+    QE is an integrated suite of Open-Source computer codes for
+    electronic-structure calculations and materials modeling at
+    the nanoscale. It is based on density-functional theory, plane
+    waves, and pseudopotentials.
     """
     homepage = 'http://quantum-espresso.org'
     url = 'http://www.qe-forge.org/gf/download/frsrelease/204/912/espresso-5.3.0.tar.gz'
 
+    version(
+        '5.4.0',
+        '8bb78181b39bd084ae5cb7a512c1cfe7',
+        url='http://www.qe-forge.org/gf/download/frsrelease/211/968/espresso-5.4.0.tar.gz'
+    )
     version('5.3.0', '6848fcfaeb118587d6be36bd10b7f2c3')
 
-    variant('mpi', default=True, description='Build Quantum-ESPRESSO with mpi support')
+    variant('mpi', default=True, description='Builds with mpi support')
     variant('openmp', default=False, description='Enables openMP support')
     variant('scalapack', default=True, description='Enables scalapack support')
-    variant('elpa', default=True, description='Use elpa as an eigenvalue solver')
+    variant('elpa', default=True, description='Uses elpa as an eigenvalue solver')
 
     depends_on('blas')
     depends_on('lapack')
@@ -47,7 +55,12 @@ class Espresso(Package):
     depends_on('mpi', when='+mpi')
     depends_on('fftw~mpi', when='~mpi')
     depends_on('fftw+mpi', when='+mpi')
-    depends_on('scalapack', when='+scalapack+mpi')  # TODO : + mpi needed to avoid false dependencies installation
+    # TODO : + mpi needed to avoid false dependencies installation
+    depends_on('scalapack', when='+scalapack+mpi')
+
+    # Spurious problems running in parallel the Makefile
+    # generated by qe configure
+    parallel = False
 
     def check_variants(self, spec):
         error = 'you cannot ask for \'+{variant}\' when \'+mpi\' is not active'
@@ -93,4 +106,3 @@ def install(self, spec, prefix):
                 install(filename, prefix.bin)
         else:
             make('install')
-