Stephen Bloch Sells 145,954 Shares of Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Stock

Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA) Director Stephen Bloch sold 145,954 shares of Liquidia stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.58, for a total transaction of $9,571,663.32. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,418,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $93,022,147.74. The trade was a 9.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Liquidia Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LQDA opened at $71.23 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.33 billion, a PE ratio of 508.82 and a beta of 0.58. Liquidia Corporation has a 12 month low of $11.85 and a 12 month high of $72.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 2.03. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.89.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $132.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $119.44 million. Liquidia had a net margin of 7.74% and a return on equity of 46.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4187.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Liquidia Corporation will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liquidia

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Liquidia by 124.5% in the first quarter. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP now owns 204,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,732,000 after purchasing an additional 113,609 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new stake in Liquidia in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,111,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Liquidia by 18.7% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,287,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,341,000 after purchasing an additional 360,372 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Liquidia by 25.0% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 72,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,734,000 after purchasing an additional 14,485 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Liquidia in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,650,000. 64.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on LQDA shares. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Liquidia from $54.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Liquidia from $51.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of Liquidia in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Liquidia in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Liquidia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.29.

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).