Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Liquidia a consensus "Moderate Buy" from 12 brokers, with an average 12‑month price target of about $43.44; several firms have recently raised targets (Jefferies to $55, Needham to $54) while ratings span from sell to strong‑buy.
• Liquidia topped Q results (EPS $0.15 vs. $0.08 estimate; revenue $92.02M vs. $87.49M) with revenue up roughly 3,072% year‑over‑year, but the company still shows negative profitability metrics (ROE -209.33%, net margin -43.53%).
• Insiders executed planned sales (CEO sold 32,744 shares, CFO 139,390) and insiders have sold 578,820 shares (~$22.75M) in the last 90 days, though insiders still own 26.5% of the company and institutions hold about 64.5%.

Shares of Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $43.4444.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LQDA. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Liquidia from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Lifesci Capital upgraded Liquidia to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Liquidia from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Liquidia in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Liquidia in a report on Thursday, March 5th.

Liquidia Price Performance

Liquidia stock opened at $39.21 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -47.24 and a beta of 0.45. Liquidia has a 52-week low of $11.85 and a 52-week high of $46.67. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $36.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.16. 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 (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $92.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.49 million. Liquidia had a negative return on equity of 209.33% and a negative net margin of 43.53%.Liquidia's revenue was up 3072.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Liquidia will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Roger Jeffs sold 32,744 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,137,599 shares in the company, valued at $43,649,673.63. This trade represents a 2.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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. Also, CFO Michael Kaseta sold 139,390 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.14, for a total value of $5,595,114.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 353,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,183,709.84. This represents a 28.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 578,820 shares of company stock worth $22,746,258 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 26.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liquidia

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in Liquidia in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Liquidia in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ purchased a new stake in Liquidia in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Liquidia in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in Liquidia by 41.9% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,216 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. 64.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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