Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Price Target Raised to $40.00

Key Points

• Wells Fargo raised its Liquidia price target to $40 from $33 but maintained an “equal weight” rating; the target implies 25.06% downside from the prior close.
• Analyst views are mixed: Liquidia has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $77.31, based on 12 analysts.
• Shares traded at $53.38 on Wednesday. The latest reported quarter showed revenue of $225.3 million, above expectations, but EPS of -$2.64 missed the consensus estimate.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $33.00 to $40.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective points to a potential downside of 25.06% from the stock's previous close.

LQDA has been the topic of several other research reports. Bank of America upped their price target on Liquidia from $79.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $65.00 price objective on Liquidia in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Liquidia from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Lifesci Capital upgraded shares of Liquidia from a "hold" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $59.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Stephens set a $130.00 target price on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Friday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Liquidia has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $77.31.

Liquidia Price Performance

NASDAQ LQDA traded up $1.98 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $53.38. The stock had a trading volume of 419,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,282,673. The firm's 50 day moving average is $49.65 and its 200 day moving average is $54.53. Liquidia has a twelve month low of $22.31 and a twelve month high of $93.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 2.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.05, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.40.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 10th. The company reported ($2.64) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.96 by ($3.60). The business had revenue of $225.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $214.18 million. Liquidia had a return on equity of 149.65% and a net margin of 30.74%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 314.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.04) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Liquidia will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Dana Boyle sold 1,581 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.19, for a total value of $68,283.39. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 164,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,084,369.32. The trade was a 0.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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. Also, insider Jason Adair sold 688 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.19, for a total value of $29,714.72. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 177,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,656,248.11. The trade was a 0.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 566,579 shares of company stock valued at $25,746,120. Insiders own 25.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Liquidia

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. USS Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Liquidia in the third quarter valued at approximately $356,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in Liquidia by 90.0% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 458,708 shares of the company's stock worth $13,881,000 after buying an additional 217,332 shares in the last quarter. Ground Swell Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Liquidia during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $254,000. Virtus Advisers LLC boosted its position in Liquidia by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC now owns 10,494 shares of the company's stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 1,814 shares during the period. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in Liquidia by 62.0% in the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 16,555 shares of the company's stock valued at $501,000 after buying an additional 6,337 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.54% of the company's stock.

Liquidia News Roundup

Investors following LQDA have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: Reports said litigation was resolved, removing a potential source of uncertainty for investors. Results and litigation update
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly EPS figures vary by reporting basis: one report cited adjusted earnings above estimates, while another showed a substantial loss tied to a $389.7 million charge. That charge may cloud the headline results despite strong revenue growth. Analysis of the quarterly charge
• Neutral Sentiment: A report noted insider share sales, but supplied no detail establishing whether the transactions reflect a negative view of the company. Insider-selling discussion

About Liquidia

Liquidia Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing treatments for pulmonary hypertension and other serious diseases. Its work includes inhaled therapies designed to deliver medicines to the lungs. The company's marketed product, Yutrepia (treprostinil) inhalation powder, is approved in the United States for adults with pulmonary arterial hypertension and pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease. Liquidia also has a pipeline of investigational therapies, including other formulations of treprostinil.

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