HC Wainwright Has Negative Forecast for Liquidia Q3 Earnings

Key Points

• HC Wainwright cut its Liquidia EPS forecast for Q3 2026 to $0.76 from $1.01, while also lowering estimates for subsequent quarters and fiscal years through 2030. The firm maintained its Buy rating and $58 price target.
• Liquidia’s latest quarter showed strong revenue growth of 1,842.1% year over year to $171.68 million, but EPS of $0.74 fell short of the $0.76 consensus estimate.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with the stock carrying an average Hold rating and $83.69 price target; recent insider activity has also been dominated by selling, including more than $40 million in sales over 90 days.

Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA - Free Report) - Investment analysts at HC Wainwright dropped their Q3 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Liquidia in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, October 2nd. HC Wainwright analyst A. Fein now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $0.76 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $1.01. HC Wainwright currently has a "Buy" rating and a $58.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Liquidia's current full-year earnings is $2.34 per share. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Liquidia's Q4 2026 earnings at $0.70 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $2.72 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $4.00 EPS, FY2028 earnings at $4.49 EPS, FY2029 earnings at $5.29 EPS and FY2030 earnings at $6.14 EPS.

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). The company had revenue of $171.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.48 million. Liquidia had a return on equity of 149.65% and a net margin of 30.74%.Liquidia's quarterly revenue was up 1842.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.49) EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on LQDA. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Liquidia from $79.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Liquidia from $110.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Lifesci Capital downgraded Liquidia from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $90.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Zacks Research lowered Liquidia from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $129.00 target price on Liquidia in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $83.69.

Liquidia Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LQDA opened at $27.64 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18 and a beta of 0.61. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $70.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 2.12. Liquidia has a fifty-two week low of $21.94 and a fifty-two week high of $93.61.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liquidia

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LQDA. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Liquidia in the second quarter worth $335,000. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Liquidia by 5.4% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,627 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in Liquidia in the 2nd quarter valued at $177,000. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new stake in Liquidia in the 2nd quarter valued at $758,000. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in Liquidia during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,236,000. 64.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction of $5,087,165.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 174,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,063,528.54. This trade represents a 29.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Also, insider Rajeev Saggar sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.06, for a total value of $3,703,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 522,519 shares of company stock worth $40,040,514. 25.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Liquidia

Here are the key news stories impacting Liquidia this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright maintained its Buy rating and a $58 price target, while still projecting earnings growth from $2.72 per share in fiscal 2026 to $6.14 by 2030. The firm’s target implies meaningful upside if Liquidia can execute commercially. MarketBeat Liquidia analyst coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional interest has remained notable: BlackRock, T. Rowe Price and other investors reportedly increased their Liquidia holdings during the second quarter of 2026. This may provide some support for the longer-term outlook, although institutional activity is backward-looking. Quiver Quantitative Liquidia analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Levi & Korsinsky announced an investor investigation related to losses following the YUTREPIA patent ruling and Liquidia’s previously stated forecast of more than $1 billion in 2027 net revenue. The notice does not itself establish wrongdoing, but it adds legal and headline risk. Liquidia investigation notice
• Negative Sentiment: HC Wainwright reduced its EPS forecasts across multiple periods: Q3 2026 to $0.76 from $1.01, Q4 to $0.70 from $1.18, fiscal 2026 to $2.72 from $3.44, and fiscal 2027–2030 to $4.00, $4.49, $5.29 and $6.14, respectively. The reductions signal lower expected profitability despite the unchanged Buy rating and price target.
• Negative Sentiment: A federal court found two United Therapeutics patent claims valid and infringed in connection with YUTREPIA’s use in pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease. Liquidia plans to remove that indication from the product label, raising concerns about availability, revenue and the company’s more than $1 billion 2027 sales outlook. Liquidia patent ruling analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Reported insider trading has been heavily weighted toward selling, with 118 sales versus one purchase over the past six months. While such transactions may reflect compensation or portfolio decisions, the imbalance can weigh on investor sentiment.

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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