Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Liquidia to “Buy” from “Hold,” though the broader analyst consensus remains “Hold,” with an average price target of $98.08.
• Liquidia opened at $66.88, down 2.2%, with a market capitalization of approximately $5.99 billion. Its latest quarterly revenue surged 1,842.1% year over year to $171.68 million, although EPS of $0.74 narrowly missed estimates.
• Insiders sold 722,519 shares worth approximately $55.7 million during the last quarter, while institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.54% of the company.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

LQDA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. HC Wainwright set a $36.00 price target on Liquidia in a research note on Friday, July 24th. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Liquidia from $109.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Lifesci Capital downgraded shares of Liquidia from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $130.00 price target on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $98.08.

Liquidia Trading Down 2.2%

NASDAQ:LQDA opened at $66.88 on Friday. Liquidia has a 52 week low of $21.15 and a 52 week high of $93.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $76.18 and a 200 day moving average of $60.50. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.82 and a beta of 0.53.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $171.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $168.48 million. Liquidia had a return on equity of 149.65% and a net margin of 30.74%.Liquidia's revenue for the quarter was up 1842.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.49) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Liquidia will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Liquidia

In other news, insider Jason Adair sold 73,631 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.09, for a total value of $5,087,165.79. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 174,606 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,063,528.54. This represents a 29.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Katherine Rielly-Gauvin sold 18,393 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.23, for a total value of $1,328,526.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 44,637 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,224,130.51. The trade was a 29.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 722,519 shares of company stock worth $55,652,514. 25.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Liquidia

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LQDA. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Liquidia by 63.3% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 58,265 shares of the company's stock worth $2,199,000 after acquiring an additional 22,592 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Liquidia during the second quarter valued at $29,694,000. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP lifted its position in Liquidia by 25.2% during the second quarter. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP now owns 256,603 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,459,000 after purchasing an additional 51,727 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB purchased a new stake in Liquidia in the second quarter valued at $1,993,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted 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 last quarter. 64.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Liquidia Company Profile

Liquidia Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing medicines for patients with serious cardiopulmonary conditions, including pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The company is headquartered in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and serves healthcare providers and patients primarily in the United States.

Liquidia's lead product is Yutrepia, an inhaled formulation of treprostinil designed for the treatment of PAH. The company has also developed treprostinil injection products and is pursuing additional therapies for rare cardiopulmonary diseases.

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