Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Stock Price Target Raised at Wells Fargo & Company

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) had its price objective upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $33.00 to $40.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on LQDA. Zacks Research lowered Liquidia from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Bank of America upped their target price on Liquidia from $79.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered Liquidia from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised Liquidia from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Stephens set a $130.00 price objective on Liquidia in a report on Friday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Liquidia presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.38.

Liquidia Trading Up 7.4%

Liquidia stock opened at $55.21 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.40. Liquidia has a 1 year low of $22.31 and a 1 year high of $93.61. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $49.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.60.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 10th. The company reported ($2.64) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by ($3.60). The company had revenue of $225.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.18 million. Liquidia had a negative net margin of 15.15% and a positive return on equity of 184.00%. Liquidia’s revenue was up 314.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.04) EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Liquidia will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Liquidia

In other Liquidia news, insider Rajeev Saggar sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.06, for a total transaction of $3,703,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 142,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,536,145.90. The trade was a 26.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roger Jeffs sold 32,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.48, for a total transaction of $932,549.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,125,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,064,151.04. This trade represents a 2.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 566,579 shares of company stock worth $25,746,120. 25.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Liquidia

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Liquidia by 26.2% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 1,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period. Globeflex Capital L P purchased a new stake in Liquidia in the 2nd quarter worth about $175,000. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in Liquidia in the 2nd quarter worth about $177,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Liquidia by 839.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 2,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Liquidia by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.54% of the company’s stock.

Key Liquidia News

Investors following LQDA have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: Management reported record October shipments and expanding PAH adoption, suggesting demand continued after the quarter. The post-settlement market outlook may also help Liquidia pursue growth, although referral disruptions remain a consideration. LQDA Q3 Earnings Call Highlights Growth and Post-Settlement Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Raymond James upgraded LQDA to “strong buy” and raised its price target to $77 from $53. Needham raised its target to $66 and maintained “buy,” while BTIG raised its target to $87 and also maintained “buy.” Raymond James upgrades Liquidia on YUTREPIA launch
• Neutral Sentiment: Commercial growth is encouraging, but the company noted referral disruptions amid market changes, which could affect the pace of adoption. Earnings call outlook

Liquidia Company Profile

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.