Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo downgraded Liquidia to “hold” from “strong buy,” while BTIG also moved to “neutral” and Raymond James lowered its rating to “outperform.” The analyst consensus is “hold,” with an average price target of $83.69.
• Liquidia shares opened at $28.64, well below their 52-week high of $93.61, amid heightened concerns over litigation involving its Yutrepia product and its commercial prospects.
• The company reported quarterly revenue of $171.68 million, up 1,842% year over year and above estimates, but EPS of $0.74 narrowly missed the $0.76 consensus. Insiders sold approximately $46.1 million of stock over the past three months.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Zacks reports.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on LQDA. Piper Sandler set a $129.00 price objective on Liquidia in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $130.00 target price on Liquidia in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Oppenheimer set a $75.00 price target on Liquidia in a research report on Friday, June 5th. BTIG Research cut Liquidia from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Liquidia from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $106.00 to $53.00 in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Liquidia has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $83.69.

Liquidia Price Performance

LQDA opened at $28.64 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $71.62 and a 200-day moving average of $62.02. The company has a market capitalization of $2.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.91 and a beta of 0.61. Liquidia has a 1-year low of $21.91 and a 1-year high of $93.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 2.31.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.02). Liquidia had a net margin of 30.74% and a return on equity of 149.65%. The company had revenue of $171.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.48 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.49) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1842.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Liquidia will post 2.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Liquidia

In related news, insider Rajeev Saggar sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.06, for a total transaction of $3,703,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 142,265 shares in the company, valued at $10,536,145.90. The trade was a 26.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Katherine Rielly-Gauvin sold 36,789 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.99, for a total value of $2,758,807.11. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 44,637 shares in the company, valued at $3,347,328.63. This represents a 45.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 597,519 shares of company stock valued at $46,091,764. 25.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liquidia

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LQDA. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Liquidia by 3.6% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 17,165 shares of the company's stock worth $648,000 after buying an additional 589 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Liquidia by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,627 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,405,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in Liquidia by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 120,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,544,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its position in Liquidia by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 20,546 shares of the company's stock worth $775,000 after acquiring an additional 1,905 shares during the period. Finally, Globeflex Capital L P acquired a new position in Liquidia during the 2nd quarter worth $175,000. Institutional investors own 64.54% of the company's stock.

Liquidia News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Liquidia this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Liquidia’s legal options are not exhausted: an appeal could potentially overturn or narrow the ruling, giving investors a possible path to recovery if Yutrepia’s market opportunity is preserved. Liquidia Stock Crashed 57% in a Day After a Delaware Court Ruling
• Positive Sentiment: Despite the litigation setback, Jefferies upgraded LQDA to “strong buy,” while HC Wainwright maintained a “buy” rating and set a $58 price target. These calls indicate that some analysts believe the selloff has overstated the long-term damage or that an appeal could succeed.
• Neutral Sentiment: HC Wainwright cut its target from $130 to $58, and Needham reduced its target from $110 to $72, although both retained “buy” ratings. The sharply lower targets reflect materially higher legal and commercialization risk even among bullish analysts.
• Negative Sentiment: BTIG downgraded Liquidia to “neutral,” and Wells Fargo added to the analyst downgrades following the patent ruling. Analysts cited uncertainty over Yutrepia’s PH-ILD indication and the possibility that UTHR’s patent victory could limit Liquidia’s addressable market. Liquidia extends losses as Wells Fargo adds to downgrades
• Negative Sentiment: The court setback triggered a severe selloff, leaving LQDA on track for its worst week on record as investors reassessed Yutrepia’s revenue potential and Liquidia’s competitive position. The stock’s unusually heavy trading volume underscores the market’s heightened uncertainty. LQDA Stock On Track For Worst Week Ever

Liquidia Company Profile

Liquidia Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for patients with serious cardiopulmonary diseases and other rare conditions. The company uses its proprietary PRINT technology to engineer drug particles with controlled size, shape and composition, with the goal of improving the delivery and performance of medicines.

Liquidia's lead product is Yutrepia (treprostinil) inhalation powder, a dry-powder inhaler designed for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).

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