Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDAGet Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $50.8750.

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Liquidia from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Liquidia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Liquidia from $54.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on LQDA

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Liquidia news, Director Stephen M. Bloch sold 318,893 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.23, for a total value of $16,017,995.39. Following the sale, the director owned 1,870,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $93,932,209.66. This trade represents a 14.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Roger Jeffs sold 32,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.37, for a total transaction of $1,256,387.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,137,599 shares in the company, valued at $43,649,673.63. This represents a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 1,133,635 shares of company stock valued at $51,366,920 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 25.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liquidia

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

Liquidia Stock Down 5.0%

Liquidia stock opened at $58.74 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.22 billion, a PE ratio of 419.60 and a beta of 0.41. Liquidia has a 12-month low of $11.85 and a 12-month high of $63.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $44.96 and its 200 day moving average is $38.77. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDAGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.11. Liquidia had a net margin of 7.74% and a return on equity of 46.82%. The firm had revenue of $132.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $119.44 million. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4187.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Liquidia will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Liquidia Company Profile

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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).

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Analyst Recommendations for Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA)

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