Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 198,753 Shares of Liquidia Corporation $LQDA

Key Points

• Renaissance Technologies cut its Liquidia stake by 96.1%, selling 198,753 shares and retaining 8,100 shares valued at approximately $306,000. Institutional investors collectively own 64.54% of LQDA.
• Analyst views remain mixed: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $108 and maintained an overweight rating, while Zacks downgraded the stock to hold. The consensus rating is “Hold,” with an average price target of $98.08.
• Liquidia reported quarterly revenue of $171.68 million, up 1,842.1% year over year and above estimates, but earnings per share of $0.74 fell slightly short of expectations. LQDA opened at $74.33, versus a 12-month range of $21.15 to $93.61.

Renaissance Technologies LLC lessened its position in shares of Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA - Free Report) by 96.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,100 shares of the company's stock after selling 198,753 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC's holdings in Liquidia were worth $306,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LQDA. Pale Fire Capital SE raised its stake in shares of Liquidia by 2.4% in the first quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE now owns 388,377 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,657,000 after purchasing an additional 8,985 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Liquidia by 306.3% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 35,655 shares of the company's stock worth $1,346,000 after buying an additional 26,879 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in Liquidia by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 120,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,544,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. bought a new stake in Liquidia in the 1st quarter valued at $772,000. Finally, Archer Investment Corp acquired a new position in shares of Liquidia in the 1st quarter valued at $259,000. 64.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on LQDA. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Liquidia from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. HC Wainwright set a $36.00 price target on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $130.00 price target on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Liquidia from $62.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $75.00 price objective on Liquidia in a research note on Friday, June 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.08.

Liquidia Price Performance

NASDAQ:LQDA opened at $74.33 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a PE ratio of 54.26 and a beta of 0.58. Liquidia Corporation has a 12 month low of $21.15 and a 12 month high of $93.61. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company's 50-day moving average price is $79.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.70.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $171.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.48 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.49) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1842.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Liquidia Corporation will post 2.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Liquidia

In related news, insider Sarah Krepp sold 7,864 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.51, for a total transaction of $562,354.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 117,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,379,398.78. This trade represents a 6.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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. Also, CAO Dana Boyle sold 1,600 shares of Liquidia stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.53, for a total value of $140,048.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 167,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,697,950.07. The trade was a 0.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Insiders sold 1,731,861 shares of company stock worth $121,514,862 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 25.60% of the company's stock.

About Liquidia

Liquidia Technologies, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. The company leverages its proprietary PRINT® (Particle Replication In Non-wetting Templates) platform to engineer precisely shaped and sized drug particles, with the goal of improving delivery, efficacy and safety profiles. By controlling particle characteristics at the nanoscale, Liquidia seeks to enhance respiratory and other therapies that depend on targeted delivery.

The company's lead product candidate, LIQ861, is a dry powder formulation of treprostinil designed for inhalation in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).

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