Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Shares Climb 4.2% – Time to Buy?

Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA)’s stock price was up 4.2% during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $69.94 and last traded at $71.30. Approximately 96,947 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 94% from the average session volume of 1,701,661 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.43.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LQDA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Liquidia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, September 20th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Liquidia from $70.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Oppenheimer set a $75.00 price target on Liquidia in a research note on Friday, June 5th. BTIG Research upped their target price on Liquidia from $109.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Liquidia from $79.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Liquidia has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.08.

Liquidia Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 2.31. The stock has a market cap of $6.59 billion, a PE ratio of 53.74 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $75.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.90.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.02). Liquidia had a return on equity of 149.65% and a net margin of 30.74%.The business had revenue of $171.68 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.48 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.49) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1842.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Liquidia Corporation will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Raman Singh sold 8,468 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.16, for a total transaction of $560,242.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 44,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,953,183.92. The trade was a 15.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Katherine Rielly-Gauvin sold 18,393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.23, for a total transaction of $1,328,526.39. Following the sale, the director directly owned 44,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,224,130.51. The trade was a 29.18% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 622,519 shares of company stock worth $48,078,514. 25.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liquidia

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Globeflex Capital L P purchased a new position in Liquidia during the second quarter worth $175,000. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of Liquidia during the 2nd quarter worth about $177,000. Hurley Capital LLC boosted its position in Liquidia by 140.7% during the 4th quarter. Hurley Capital LLC now owns 5,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 3,040 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Liquidia by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,000 after buying an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Liquidia in the first quarter valued at approximately $247,000. 64.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Liquidia

Liquidia Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing medicines for patients with serious cardiopulmonary conditions, including pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The company is headquartered in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and serves healthcare providers and patients primarily in the United States.

Liquidia’s lead product is Yutrepia, an inhaled formulation of treprostinil designed for the treatment of PAH. The company has also developed treprostinil injection products and is pursuing additional therapies for rare cardiopulmonary diseases.