Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $39.6667.

Several research analysts recently commented on LQDA shares. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Liquidia from $35.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Zacks Research upgraded Liquidia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Liquidia from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Liquidia from $36.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th.

Liquidia Trading Up 0.3%

NASDAQ LQDA opened at $35.05 on Friday. Liquidia has a 52 week low of $11.26 and a 52 week high of $46.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.19, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.20. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $37.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.34, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at Liquidia

In other news, General Counsel Russell Schundler sold 27,289 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total value of $1,021,427.27. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 579,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,686,717.42. This represents a 4.50% 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 66,610 shares of Liquidia stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total value 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. The trade was a 6.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 216,820 shares of company stock valued at $8,102,685 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 26.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Liquidia

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LQDA. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Liquidia during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Liquidia by 41.9% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new position in shares of Liquidia in the third quarter valued at $30,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Liquidia in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Liquidia in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. 64.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).