Needham & Company LLC Reaffirms Buy Rating for Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA)

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $52.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target suggests a potential upside of 73.94% from the company’s current price.

LQDA has been the topic of several other research reports. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $47.00 price target on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Liquidia from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Liquidia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $49.00 price objective on shares of Liquidia in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their target price on Liquidia from $35.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.67.

Liquidia Trading Down 10.9%

Liquidia stock traded down $3.68 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $29.90. 3,305,586 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,161,637. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.56. The company has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.74, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.19, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 1.96. Liquidia has a 52-week low of $11.26 and a 52-week high of $46.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jason Adair sold 688 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.65, for a total value of $28,655.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 211,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,795,188.85. The trade was a 0.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roger Jeffs sold 66,610 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total value of $2,493,212.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,037,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,834,673.04. The trade was a 6.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 216,820 shares of company stock valued at $8,102,685 over the last quarter. 30.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Liquidia

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Liquidia during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Liquidia in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new stake in Liquidia in the third quarter valued at $30,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Liquidia during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Liquidia by 41.9% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. 64.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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).