Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Upgraded at BTIG Research

Key Points

• BTIG Research upgraded Liquidia to “buy” from “neutral” and set a $70 price target, implying 161.1% upside from the previous close.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Liquidia has an average “hold” rating and a consensus price target of $79.46, with ratings ranging from strong buy to sell.
• Liquidia reported quarterly revenue of $171.68 million, up 1,842.1% year over year, but earnings of $0.74 per share missed expectations by $0.02.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at BTIG Research from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $70.00 price objective on the stock. BTIG Research's price objective indicates a potential upside of 161.10% from the company's previous close.

LQDA has been the subject of several other reports. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Liquidia from $72.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings raised Liquidia from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Lifesci Capital downgraded 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. Stephens set a $130.00 target price on Liquidia in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Liquidia presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $79.46.

Liquidia Stock Down 3.1%

Shares of NASDAQ LQDA opened at $26.81 on Wednesday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $63.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.76. Liquidia has a 52-week low of $21.94 and a 52-week high of $93.61. The firm has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.57 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.02). Liquidia had a return on equity of 149.65% and a net margin of 30.74%. The company had revenue of $171.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.48 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.49) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1842.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Liquidia will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Liquidia

In related news, insider Jason Adair sold 73,631 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.09, for a total transaction of $5,087,165.79. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 174,606 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,063,528.54. This represents a 29.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing 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, insider Rajeev Saggar sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.06, for a total transaction of $3,703,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 142,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,536,145.90. The trade was a 26.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 745,194 shares of company stock valued at $41,081,702. Company insiders own 25.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Key Liquidia News

Here are the key news stories impacting Liquidia this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Liquidia reached a global settlement resolving all six pending lawsuits with United Therapeutics. The agreement allows uninterrupted commercialization of YUTREPIA for pulmonary arterial hypertension, removing years of patent, antitrust and trade-secret litigation uncertainty. Liquidia settlement announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Preliminary third-quarter YUTREPIA net sales reached $222.7 million, contributing to $396.1 million in cash and cash equivalents as of September 30. Management expects ongoing sales and existing cash to fund settlement obligations and planned clinical programs without new financing.
• Positive Sentiment: Liquidia plans to focus on expanding YUTREPIA in PAH while continuing development of the L606 clinical program and additional potential indications.
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Roger Jeffs, CFO Michael Kaseta and several other insiders sold shares at $28.48 under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards. Because the sales were programmatic and insiders retained substantial holdings, they provide a limited standalone signal about management confidence. Liquidia insider transactions
• Negative Sentiment: The settlement requires Liquidia to pay United Therapeutics a net $380.7 million in installments during 2026 and 2027, including $175 million within 30 business days. The cash outflow could reduce financial flexibility and constrain investment, although management expects to rebuild cash through YUTREPIA sales.
• Negative Sentiment: Liquidia agreed not to appeal a patent-infringement ruling and is removing the PH-ILD indication from YUTREPIA’s label. It will also stop promoting Treprostinil Injection, narrowing potential revenue opportunities.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider activity remains heavily weighted toward sales, with 106 sales and one purchase reported over the past six months. Analysts have also recently lowered some price targets following the litigation setback, adding to investor caution.

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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