BTIG Research Reaffirms Buy Rating for Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA)

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by analysts at BTIG Research in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $49.00 price objective on the stock. BTIG Research’s price target suggests a potential upside of 42.40% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Monday, October 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Liquidia from $36.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of Liquidia from $35.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Liquidia from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.56.

Liquidia Stock Down 3.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:LQDA opened at $34.41 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.90 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.80. Liquidia has a 1 year low of $11.26 and a 1 year high of $36.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.19, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.20.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Roger Jeffs sold 20,261 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.41, for a total value of $474,310.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,032,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,181,897.93. This represents a 1.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Kaseta sold 11,630 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.41, for a total transaction of $272,258.30. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 352,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,255,442.86. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 169,644 shares of company stock valued at $4,500,450 over the last 90 days. 26.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liquidia

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Liquidia during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new position in Liquidia during the third quarter worth $30,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Liquidia in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Liquidia by 24.0% in the second quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Liquidia during the 1st quarter worth about $79,000. 64.54% of the stock is currently 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).