Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Insider Sells $682,133.89 in Stock

Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA) insider Scott Moomaw sold 9,539 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.51, for a total value of $682,133.89. Following the transaction, the insider owned 182,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,049,502.35. This trade represents a 4.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.

Liquidia Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LQDA opened at $75.27 on Friday. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $67.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.10. Liquidia Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $14.04 and a fifty-two week high of $82.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 537.68 and a beta of 0.55.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.11. Liquidia had a return on equity of 46.82% and a net margin of 7.74%.The company had revenue of $132.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $119.44 million. Liquidia’s revenue was up 4187.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Liquidia Corporation will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on LQDA shares. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 price objective (up from $64.00) on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Oppenheimer set a $75.00 target price on Liquidia in a report on Friday, June 5th. Wall Street Zen cut Liquidia from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on Liquidia from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Liquidia presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.88.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liquidia

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Liquidia by 41.9% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Liquidia by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,304 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Liquidia by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 17,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $648,000 after buying an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in Liquidia in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in Liquidia by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 11,756 shares of the company’s stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 775 shares during the last quarter. 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).