Apis Capital Advisors LLC Sells 65,600 Shares of Liquidia Corporation $LQDA

Apis Capital Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA) by 15.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 355,200 shares of the company’s stock after selling 65,600 shares during the period. Liquidia accounts for approximately 2.1% of Apis Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Apis Capital Advisors LLC owned 0.41% of Liquidia worth $12,251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LQDA. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Liquidia during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Liquidia during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new position in shares of Liquidia during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Liquidia during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Liquidia by 41.9% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.54% of the company’s stock.

Liquidia Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:LQDA opened at $68.65 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Liquidia Corporation has a 12 month low of $11.85 and a 12 month high of $73.22. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $51.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.76. The company has a market cap of $6.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 490.39 and a beta of 0.58.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Sarah Krepp sold 24,880 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.28, for a total value of $1,748,566.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 121,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,564,531.64. This represents a 16.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Stephen M. Bloch sold 85,062 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.44, for a total transaction of $6,076,829.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 980,073 shares in the company, valued at $70,016,415.12. This trade represents a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,282,894 shares of company stock valued at $128,344,713. Company insiders own 25.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LQDA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Liquidia from $51.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Liquidia from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Liquidia from $54.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Oppenheimer set a $75.00 price target on shares of Liquidia in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Liquidia from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.29.

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).