Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Upgraded to "Hold" at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Liquidia from “Strong Sell” to “Hold.” Across analysts, the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $75.23.
• Liquidia reported quarterly revenue of $225.3 million, above the $214.18 million consensus, but earnings per share of -$2.64 missed the $0.96 estimate.
• Shares fell 1.2% to $57.41 on Thursday. Company insiders sold 566,579 shares worth about $25.7 million over the prior three months.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Thursday, Zacks reports.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Stephens set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wedbush set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. HC Wainwright assumed coverage on Liquidia in a research report on Friday. They set a "buy" rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Liquidia from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, BTIG Research upped their target price on Liquidia from $70.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.23.

Liquidia Trading Down 1.2%

NASDAQ LQDA traded down $0.71 on Thursday, hitting $57.41. 1,932,184 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,107,374. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $48.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -46.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.40. Liquidia has a 52-week low of $22.31 and a 52-week high of $93.61.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $225.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $214.18 million. Liquidia had a negative net margin of 15.15% and a positive return on equity of 264.65%. The company's revenue was up 314.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.04) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Liquidia will post 0.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jason Adair sold 73,631 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 174,606 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,063,528.54. This trade represents a 29.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Roger Jeffs sold 32,744 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.48, for a total value of $932,549.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,125,848 shares in the company, valued at $32,064,151.04. The trade was a 2.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 566,579 shares of company stock worth $25,746,120. 25.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liquidia

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Liquidia by 18.7% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,287,792 shares of the company's stock worth $86,341,000 after buying an additional 360,372 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Liquidia in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,694,000. Eversept Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Liquidia by 33.0% in the 1st quarter. Eversept Partners LP now owns 677,392 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,565,000 after acquiring an additional 167,949 shares during the period. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Liquidia by 25.2% in the 2nd quarter. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP now owns 256,603 shares of the company's stock worth $20,459,000 after acquiring an additional 51,727 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pale Fire Capital SE raised its position in shares of Liquidia by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE now owns 388,377 shares of the company's stock worth $14,657,000 after acquiring an additional 8,985 shares in the last quarter. 64.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Liquidia Company Profile

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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