Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Trading 9.1% Higher – Here’s Why

Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA)’s stock price was up 9.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $34.57 and last traded at $34.6550. Approximately 1,890,581 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 14% from the average daily volume of 1,665,680 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.76.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on LQDA shares. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Liquidia in a report on Monday, October 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $49.00 price target on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Friday, December 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their price objective on shares of Liquidia from $35.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Liquidia currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.56.

Liquidia Stock Up 15.1%

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.19, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The company has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.48.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.45) by $0.41. Liquidia had a negative net margin of 176.04% and a negative return on equity of 296.78%. The firm had revenue of $54.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.86 million. The business’s revenue was up 1106.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Liquidia Corporation will post -1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Scott Moomaw sold 831 shares of Liquidia stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.19, for a total value of $26,749.89. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 154,506 shares in the company, valued at $4,973,548.14. The trade was a 0.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Michael Kaseta sold 1,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.19, for a total transaction of $37,533.54. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 353,823 shares in the company, valued at $11,389,562.37. The trade was a 0.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 169,644 shares of company stock worth $4,500,450. 26.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liquidia

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LQDA. Whitcomb & Hess Inc. grew its stake in shares of Liquidia by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Whitcomb & Hess Inc. now owns 28,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $645,000 after buying an additional 558 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Liquidia by 1.4% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 67,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,525,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in Liquidia by 10.2% in the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 12,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Liquidia by 24.0% during the second quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new position in shares of Liquidia during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. 64.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Liquidia

Liquidia Technologies, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. The company leverages its proprietary PRINT® (Particle Replication In Non-wetting Templates) platform to engineer precisely shaped and sized drug particles, with the goal of improving delivery, efficacy and safety profiles. By controlling particle characteristics at the nanoscale, Liquidia seeks to enhance respiratory and other therapies that depend on targeted delivery.

The company’s lead product candidate, LIQ861, is a dry powder formulation of treprostinil designed for inhalation in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).