Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Shares Up 5.8% on Analyst Upgrade

Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA)’s share price was up 5.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after BTIG Research raised their price target on the stock from $70.00 to $87.00. BTIG Research currently has a buy rating on the stock. Liquidia traded as high as $50.37 and last traded at $50.6370. 1,625,205 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 29% from the average daily volume of 2,286,122 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.87.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Stephens set a $130.00 target price on shares of Liquidia in a report on Friday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Liquidia from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Liquidia from $79.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Liquidia currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.15.

Insider Activity at Liquidia

In related news, insider Jason Adair sold 73,631 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.09, for a total value of $5,087,165.79. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 174,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,063,528.54. This represents a 29.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Katherine Rielly-Gauvin sold 36,789 shares of Liquidia stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.99, for a total value of $2,758,807.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 44,637 shares in the company, valued at $3,347,328.63. This represents a 45.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 566,579 shares of company stock valued at $25,746,120 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 25.60% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Liquidia

Here are the key news stories impacting Liquidia this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BTIG Research raised its price target to $87 from $70 and maintained a Buy rating, signaling a more bullish outlook. BTIG Research ratings
• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue reached $225.3 million, up 314.9% year over year and above analyst estimates of $214.18 million. Adjusted earnings were $0.80 per share, beating the Zacks consensus estimate of $0.77; strong YUTREPIA sales growth helped drive the results. Zacks Q3 earnings report
• Negative Sentiment: Reported GAAP EPS was a loss of $2.64, well below the consensus estimate for a profit, with a $389.7 million charge cited as masking the strong YUTREPIA quarter. The gap between GAAP and adjusted results may leave investors focused on the charge’s nature and its impact on future earnings. 247WallSt Q3 analysis

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LQDA. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Liquidia by 90.0% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 458,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,881,000 after buying an additional 217,332 shares during the last quarter. Ground Swell Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Liquidia in the third quarter worth about $254,000. Virtus Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Liquidia by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC now owns 10,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 1,814 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its stake in Liquidia by 62.0% during the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 16,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,000 after acquiring an additional 6,337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund acquired a new position in shares of Liquidia in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,077,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.54% of the company’s stock.

Liquidia Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $49.99 and a 200-day moving average of $54.47. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.97, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.40.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 10th. The company reported ($2.64) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.96 by ($3.60). Liquidia had a return on equity of 149.65% and a net margin of 30.74%. The firm had revenue of $225.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $214.18 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.04) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 314.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Liquidia Corporation will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

About Liquidia

Liquidia Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing treatments for pulmonary hypertension and other serious diseases. Its work includes inhaled therapies designed to deliver medicines to the lungs. The company’s marketed product, Yutrepia (treprostinil) inhalation powder, is approved in the United States for adults with pulmonary arterial hypertension and pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease. Liquidia also has a pipeline of investigational therapies, including other formulations of treprostinil.