Michael Kaseta Sells 20,430 Shares of Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Stock

Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA) CFO Michael Kaseta sold 20,430 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.51, for a total value of $1,460,949.30. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 345,805 shares in the company, valued at $24,728,515.55. This trade represents a 5.58% 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. 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.

Michael Kaseta also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, April 15th, Michael Kaseta sold 139,390 shares of Liquidia stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.14, for a total transaction of $5,595,114.60.

Liquidia Stock Up 1.6%

LQDA opened at $77.75 on Thursday. Liquidia Corporation has a 1 year low of $14.04 and a 1 year high of $82.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $67.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.22. The company has a market cap of $6.91 billion, a PE ratio of 555.40 and a beta of 0.55.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $119.44 million. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4187.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Liquidia Corporation will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Liquidia News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Liquidia this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Liquidia’s YUTREPIA patent case appears to be turning more favorable, and the company is also being highlighted for expanding its patent position around the drug. That improves the outlook for protecting its pulmonary hypertension franchise and supports the bullish case for the stock. Liquidia (LQDA) Expands YUTREPIA As Patent Case Turns More Favorable
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage coverage remains constructive overall, with Liquidia receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating from analysts. That supports the stock’s longer-term outlook, but it is not a new catalyst on its own. Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages
• Negative Sentiment: Several insiders, including the CEO, CFO, general counsel, CAO, and others, disclosed stock sales at about the same price level. The trades were made under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans and tied to tax withholding from equity vesting, but the size and number of sales may still raise some investor caution. SEC filing – Roger Jeffs sale

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LQDA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective (up from $64.00) on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Oppenheimer set a $75.00 target price on Liquidia in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Liquidia from $54.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.88.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liquidia

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LQDA. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Liquidia by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 8,656,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $298,547,000 after purchasing an additional 90,400 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Liquidia by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,013,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,439,000 after buying an additional 52,671 shares in the last quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. boosted its position in Liquidia by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. now owns 2,475,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,838,000 after buying an additional 215,000 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Liquidia by 18.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,287,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,341,000 after buying an additional 360,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Liquidia by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 1,783,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,527,000 after acquiring an additional 151,832 shares in the last quarter. 64.54% of the stock is 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).