Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Hits New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Saturday after Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. The stock traded as high as $38.16 and last traded at $35.86, with a volume of 7982934 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $31.76.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Liquidia from $36.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Monday, October 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Liquidia has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Michael Kaseta sold 1,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.19, for a total value of $37,533.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 353,823 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,389,562.37. This represents a 0.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Rajeev Saggar sold 71,381 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total value of $1,927,287.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 176,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,766,823. The trade was a 28.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 169,644 shares of company stock valued at $4,500,450. 26.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liquidia

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Whitcomb & Hess Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Liquidia by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Whitcomb & Hess Inc. now owns 28,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $645,000 after buying an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Liquidia by 1.4% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 67,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,525,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in Liquidia by 10.2% during the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 12,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Liquidia by 24.0% during the second quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ purchased a new position in shares of Liquidia in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.54% of the company’s stock.

Liquidia Stock Up 12.9%

The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $31.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.07.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter was up 1106.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Liquidia Corporation will post -1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Liquidia Company Profile

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).