Squarepoint Ops LLC Trims Stock Position in Liquidia Corporation $LQDA

Key Points

• Squarepoint Ops LLC cut its Liquidia position by 81.8% in the second quarter, selling 132,267 shares and retaining 29,422 shares valued at approximately $2.35 million. Institutional investors overall own 64.54% of the company.
• Liquidia insiders have also been selling shares, including Director Stephen Bloch’s $7.57 million sale and CEO Roger Jeffs’ $2.52 million sale. Insiders sold approximately $54.5 million worth of stock over the past 90 days.
• The company reported quarterly revenue of $171.68 million, up 1,842.1% year over year and above estimates, but earnings of $0.74 per share slightly missed expectations. Analyst sentiment is mixed, with an overall “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $98.08.

Squarepoint Ops LLC decreased its position in Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA - Free Report) by 81.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,422 shares of the company's stock after selling 132,267 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in Liquidia were worth $2,346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Liquidia by 41.9% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,216 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Liquidia by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,304 shares of the company's stock worth $217,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Liquidia by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 17,165 shares of the company's stock worth $648,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Liquidia by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 11,756 shares of the company's stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Liquidia by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,627 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,405,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.54% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Liquidia

In related news, Director Stephen M. Bloch sold 100,000 shares of Liquidia stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.74, for a total value of $7,574,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 880,073 shares in the company, valued at $66,656,729.02. The trade was a 10.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roger Jeffs sold 35,249 shares of Liquidia stock in a transaction on Monday, July 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.51, for a total transaction of $2,520,655.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,130,426 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $80,836,763.26. This trade represents a 3.02% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 705,027 shares of company stock valued at $54,473,044. 25.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Liquidia Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ LQDA opened at $65.31 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.67 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Liquidia Corporation has a 12-month low of $21.15 and a 12-month high of $93.61. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $77.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.67.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.74 EPS 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.49) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1842.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Liquidia Corporation will post 2.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LQDA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Liquidia from $70.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Zacks Research lowered Liquidia from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. HC Wainwright set a $36.00 price target on Liquidia in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Stephens set a $130.00 price target on Liquidia in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Liquidia from $109.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Liquidia has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.08.

Liquidia Company Profile

Liquidia Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing medicines for patients with serious cardiopulmonary conditions, including pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The company is headquartered in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and serves healthcare providers and patients primarily in the United States.

Liquidia's lead product is Yutrepia, an inhaled formulation of treprostinil designed for the treatment of PAH. The company has also developed treprostinil injection products and is pursuing additional therapies for rare cardiopulmonary diseases.

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