Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Position in Liquidia Corporation $LQDA

Key Points

• Vanguard Group increased its stake in Liquidia by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 52,671 more shares and bringing its total holding to 4,013,888 shares, worth about $138.4 million.
• Liquidia reported a strong first quarter, with earnings of $0.52 per share and revenue of about $132.9 million, both beating expectations. Revenue surged year over year, driven by commercialization of YUTREPIA.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive after the earnings beat, with Needham and BTIG raising price targets, though one downgrade warned that YUTREPIA’s launch momentum may be nearing a ceiling amid competition.

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,013,888 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 52,671 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 4.61% of Liquidia worth $138,439,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LQDA. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Liquidia by 1.4% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 67,050 shares of the company's stock worth $1,525,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new stake in Liquidia during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Creative Planning lifted its position in Liquidia by 5.4% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 28,298 shares of the company's stock valued at $643,000 after purchasing an additional 1,458 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Liquidia in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Liquidia by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 39,064 shares of the company's stock worth $888,000 after buying an additional 1,549 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.54% of the company's stock.

Liquidia News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Liquidia this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Liquidia reported first-quarter earnings of $0.52 per share, topping estimates, with revenue of about $132.9 million above expectations and a sharp year-over-year increase, underscoring strong commercialization momentum for YUTREPIA. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company said YUTREPIA generated roughly $130 million in first-quarter net product sales, with more than 4,500 unique prescriptions, helping Liquidia post its third consecutive profitable quarter and improve cash balances. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Needham raised its price target on Liquidia to $70 from $54 and BTIG lifted its target to $59 from $50, signaling that analysts still see upside after the earnings beat. Article Title Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Liquidia’s Q1 earnings call materials and transcript added detail on the launch trajectory and clinical pipeline, but did not introduce a clearly new catalyst beyond the quarter’s strong operating update. Article Title Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: One Seeking Alpha downgrade argued that YUTREPIA’s launch momentum may be approaching a ceiling, with further market-share gains potentially limited by competition and valuation already reflecting optimistic peak-sales assumptions. Article Title

Insider Transactions at Liquidia

In related news, CFO Michael Kaseta sold 139,390 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.14, for a total value of $5,595,114.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 353,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,183,709.84. This trade represents a 28.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Roger Jeffs sold 32,744 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.37, for a total value of $1,256,387.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,137,599 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,649,673.63. The trade was a 2.80% 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 628,820 shares of company stock worth $24,801,008 over the last quarter. 25.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LQDA has been the topic of several research reports. Lifesci Capital upgraded shares of Liquidia to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Liquidia from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Liquidia from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Liquidia presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.78.

Liquidia Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LQDA opened at $53.13 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 2.01. Liquidia Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $11.85 and a fifty-two week high of $53.93. The firm has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a PE ratio of -64.01 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $37.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.04.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $132.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $119.44 million. Liquidia had a negative net margin of 43.53% and a negative return on equity of 209.33%. Liquidia's quarterly revenue was up 4187.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Liquidia Corporation will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

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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