Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 90,656 Shares of Liquidia Technologies, Inc. $LQDA

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Liquidia Technologies by 2.5%, owning approximately 4.06% of the company, equivalent to $51.13 million in value.
• Insider selling has occurred, with CEO Roger Jeffs selling 20,252 shares at about $14.28 per share, resulting in a 1.91% decrease in his ownership stake.
• Research analysts predominantly hold a positive outlook for Liquidia Technologies, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and a price target averaging $32.11.

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its holdings in Liquidia Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LQDA - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,466,640 shares of the company's stock after selling 90,656 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 4.06% of Liquidia Technologies worth $51,133,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Liquidia Technologies in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Liquidia Technologies by 65.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,961 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 1,173 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Liquidia Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $142,000. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Liquidia Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $163,000. Finally, Significant Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Liquidia Technologies by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. Significant Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,396 shares of the company's stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 1,780 shares during the period. 64.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Liquidia Technologies news, CFO Michael Kaseta sold 30,000 shares of Liquidia Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $600,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 376,412 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,528,240. This trade represents a 7.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Scott Moomaw sold 4,797 shares of Liquidia Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.28, for a total transaction of $68,501.16. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 223,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,187,738.68. This represents a 2.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 90,277 shares of company stock worth $1,469,392. Corporate insiders own 30.10% of the company's stock.

Liquidia Technologies Stock Up 0.8%

LQDA stock traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $27.68. 2,174,424 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,065,696. The stock has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.28 and a beta of 0.22. The company has a quick ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.84. Liquidia Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.75 and a fifty-two week high of $28.82. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $18.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.36.

Liquidia Technologies (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.49) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.43) by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $8.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 million. Liquidia Technologies had a negative net margin of 732.17% and a negative return on equity of 232.96%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 141.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Liquidia Technologies, Inc. will post -1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on Liquidia Technologies from $33.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Liquidia Technologies from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Oppenheimer set a $13.00 target price on Liquidia Technologies and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating on shares of Liquidia Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on Liquidia Technologies from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Liquidia Technologies presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.11.

About Liquidia Technologies

Liquidia Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company, develops, manufactures, and commercializes various products for unmet patient needs in the United States. Its lead product candidates include YUTREPIA, an inhaled dry powder formulation of treprostinil for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease (PH-ILD).