Vanguard Group Inc. Cuts Stake in 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. lowered its stake in Liquidia Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LQDA - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,466,640 shares of the company's stock after selling 90,656 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 4.06% of Liquidia Technologies worth $51,133,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in Liquidia Technologies during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Liquidia Technologies by 65.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,961 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,173 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Liquidia Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $142,000. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Liquidia Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $163,000. Finally, Significant Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Liquidia Technologies by 14.1% during the first quarter. Significant Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,396 shares of the company's stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 1,780 shares during the last quarter. 64.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Liquidia Technologies

In related news, CFO Michael Kaseta sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $600,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 376,412 shares in the company, valued at $7,528,240. The trade was a 7.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Russell Schundler sold 7,836 shares of Liquidia Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.28, for a total value of $111,898.08. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 577,977 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,253,511.56. This represents a 1.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 90,277 shares of company stock valued at $1,469,392. Corporate insiders own 26.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LQDA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer set a $13.00 price objective on Liquidia Technologies and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on Liquidia Technologies from $33.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Liquidia Technologies from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Liquidia Technologies from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Liquidia Technologies from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $32.11.

Liquidia Technologies Price Performance

Shares of LQDA stock traded up $0.22 on Friday, reaching $27.68. 2,174,424 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,122,468. The company has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.28 and a beta of 0.14. Liquidia Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.75 and a 1 year high of $28.82. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $18.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.84, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a current ratio of 2.49.

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

Liquidia Technologies Profile

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).