Roger Jeffs Sells 66,610 Shares of Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Stock

Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA) CEO Roger Jeffs sold 66,610 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total transaction of $2,493,212.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,037,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,834,673.04. This trade represents a 6.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Liquidia Price Performance

Shares of Liquidia stock traded up $1.49 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $38.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,055,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,814,845. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $31.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.40. Liquidia Corporation has a one year low of $11.26 and a one year high of $39.29. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Institutional Trading of Liquidia

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LQDA. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Liquidia by 46.7% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 54,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,886,000 after purchasing an additional 17,407 shares during the period. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Liquidia in the 4th quarter worth about $4,891,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new position in shares of Liquidia during the third quarter worth approximately $1,536,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Liquidia during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Liquidia in the third quarter valued at approximately $389,000. 64.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on LQDA shares. Wall Street Zen raised Liquidia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Liquidia from $36.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Liquidia in a report on Monday, October 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Liquidia in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $49.00 price target on shares of Liquidia in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.67.

Key Headlines Impacting Liquidia

Here are the key news stories impacting Liquidia this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Short interest fell materially in December — short interest declined 18.1% to 10,709,682 shares as of Dec. 31 (about 17.6% of shares were sold short) and the days-to-cover was ~11.6. Fewer active shorts can reduce downside pressure and may have contributed to the stock moving higher. (Market data entry)
• Neutral Sentiment: January short-interest data shows 0 shares as of Jan. 12 — this is almost certainly a reporting or data glitch rather than a real liquidation of all short positions. Investors should monitor the next short-interest report for a corrected figure. (Market data entry)
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Roger Jeffs sold 66,610 shares at an average $37.43 (≈$2.49M); his stake decreased ~6.03%. This large insider sale may be seen as a negative signal by some investors. SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: CFO Michael Kaseta sold 36,932 shares at $37.43 (≈$1.38M); his holding fell ~9.52%. SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: General Counsel Russell Schundler sold 27,289 shares at $37.43 (≈$1.02M); his holding fell ~4.50%. SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Other insiders (including Rajeev Saggar, Jason Adair, Scott Moomaw, Sarah Krepp, CAO Dana Boyle) also executed sales on Jan. 12 at ~$37.43 per share, each reducing positions between ~6–11.7%. These combined sales represent significant insider liquidity taken at current prices. Rajeev Saggar SEC Filing Dana Boyle SEC Filing Jason Adair SEC Filing Scott Moomaw SEC Filing Sarah Krepp SEC Filing

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).