Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Liquidia Co. (NASDAQ:LQDA) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $18.02, but opened at $14.65. Liquidia shares last traded at $14.03, with a volume of 3,223,525 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LQDA. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Liquidia from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Liquidia from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $13.00 target price on shares of Liquidia and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.67.

Liquidia Trading Down 21.9%

The company has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.71 and a beta of 0.04. The company’s fifty day moving average is $15.04 and its 200 day moving average is $14.08.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.45) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.12 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.23 million. Liquidia had a negative net margin of 765.38% and a negative return on equity of 163.21%. Analysts anticipate that Liquidia Co. will post -1.51 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Liquidia news, insider Jason Adair sold 1,856 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.57, for a total transaction of $25,185.92. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 184,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,501,005.28. The trade was a 1.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Roger Jeffs sold 14,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.57, for a total transaction of $191,744.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,006,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,657,119.40. This trade represents a 1.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 33,138 shares of company stock valued at $450,233. Insiders own 26.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liquidia

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LQDA. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Liquidia by 6.0% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 85,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,261,000 after buying an additional 4,811 shares in the last quarter. Bluefin Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Liquidia during the 1st quarter worth approximately $250,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Liquidia by 15.2% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 121,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,796,000 after acquiring an additional 16,022 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Liquidia by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 861,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,703,000 after acquiring an additional 82,955 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Liquidia by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 37,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.54% of the company’s stock.

Liquidia Company Profile

Liquidia Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company, develops, manufactures, and commercializes various products for unmet patient needs in the United States. Its lead product candidates include YUTREPIA, an inhaled dry powder formulation of treprostinil for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease (PH-ILD).