Analysts Set Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA) Price Target at $38.56

Shares of Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $38.5556.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on LQDA shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $47.00 target price on shares of Liquidia in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Liquidia from $36.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Liquidia in a research note on Monday, October 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Liquidia from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th.

Insider Activity at Liquidia

In other Liquidia news, General Counsel Russell Schundler sold 1,072 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.19, for a total transaction of $34,507.68. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 577,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,582,900.72. This trade represents a 0.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Scott Moomaw sold 831 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.19, for a total transaction of $26,749.89. Following the sale, the insider owned 154,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,973,548.14. The trade was a 0.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 169,644 shares of company stock worth $4,500,450 in the last ninety days. 30.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Liquidia

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Liquidia by 102.1% during the third quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 8,565,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,783,000 after purchasing an additional 4,326,876 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Liquidia by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,961,217 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,078,000 after buying an additional 367,659 shares during the last quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. lifted its stake in Liquidia by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. now owns 2,475,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,838,000 after acquiring an additional 215,000 shares during the period. TCG Crossover Management LLC bought a new position in Liquidia during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,887,000. Finally, Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Liquidia during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,114,000. 64.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Liquidia Stock Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:LQDA opened at $34.75 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $29.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.01. The company has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a PE ratio of -24.13 and a beta of 0.48. Liquidia has a 1-year low of $11.26 and a 1-year high of $36.41.

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

Liquidia Company Profile

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).