Insider Selling: Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) CEO Sells 25,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Liquidia CEO Roger Jeffs sold 25,000 shares on May 19 at an average price of $58.65, totaling about $1.47 million. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
• Jeffs has been actively reducing his stake, with multiple share sales reported in recent weeks. After the latest transaction, he still directly owns 1,148,095 shares worth about $67.3 million.
• Liquidia’s stock has surged, trading near its 12-month high of $62.17 and well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. The company also recently reported strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates.

Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) CEO Roger Jeffs sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.65, for a total value of $1,466,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,148,095 shares of the company's stock, valued at $67,335,771.75. The trade was a 2.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Roger Jeffs also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, May 15th, Roger Jeffs sold 25,000 shares of Liquidia stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.04, for a total value of $1,426,000.00.
• On Wednesday, May 13th, Roger Jeffs sold 25,000 shares of Liquidia stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.29, for a total value of $1,407,250.00.
• On Monday, May 11th, Roger Jeffs sold 25,000 shares of Liquidia stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total value of $1,037,500.00.
• On Thursday, May 7th, Roger Jeffs sold 25,000 shares of Liquidia stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.09, for a total value of $1,052,250.00.
• On Tuesday, May 5th, Roger Jeffs sold 25,000 shares of Liquidia stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.10, for a total value of $1,002,500.00.
• On Friday, April 17th, Roger Jeffs sold 18,839 shares of Liquidia stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.60, for a total value of $764,863.40.
• On Wednesday, April 15th, Roger Jeffs sold 25,000 shares of Liquidia stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.14, for a total value of $1,003,500.00.
• On Tuesday, April 14th, Roger Jeffs sold 3,300 shares of Liquidia stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $132,000.00.
• On Monday, April 13th, Roger Jeffs sold 32,744 shares of Liquidia stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.37, for a total value of $1,256,387.28.
• On Friday, April 10th, Roger Jeffs sold 21,433 shares of Liquidia stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.12, for a total value of $859,891.96.

Liquidia Stock Performance

LQDA traded up $1.79 on Wednesday, hitting $61.77. 1,754,852 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,713,171. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $40.63 and a 200-day moving average of $36.54. Liquidia Corporation has a 12-month low of $11.85 and a 12-month high of $62.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a PE ratio of 441.25 and a beta of 0.41.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.11. Liquidia had a return on equity of 46.82% and a net margin of 7.74%.The company had revenue of $132.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $119.44 million. The business's revenue was up 4187.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Liquidia Corporation will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Liquidia from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. BTIG Research increased their price target on Liquidia from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Liquidia from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Liquidia from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Liquidia has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $49.33.

Institutional Trading of Liquidia

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in Liquidia in the 3rd quarter valued at $7,290,000. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in Liquidia in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,114,000. Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Liquidia by 102.1% in the 3rd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 8,565,638 shares of the company's stock valued at $194,783,000 after purchasing an additional 4,326,876 shares in the last quarter. Apis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Liquidia during the third quarter valued at about $9,569,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its stake in shares of Liquidia by 63.6% during the fourth quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 63,176 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,179,000 after acquiring an additional 24,555 shares in the last quarter. 64.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Liquidia Company Profile

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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