Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Hits New 12-Month High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Liquidia shares hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $89.51 and last changing hands at $87.04, well above the prior close of $80.89. The move came on heavy volume of 3.39 million shares.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but generally constructive: the stock carries an average rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $68.88, though some firms remain bullish while others are bearish.
• Liquidia recently posted strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates and reporting revenue growth of 4,187.1% year over year. Insiders also sold shares in July, while institutional investors continue to hold a large majority of the stock.

Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $89.51 and last traded at $87.04, with a volume of 3394367 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $80.89.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on LQDA shares. Oppenheimer set a $75.00 target price on Liquidia in a report on Friday, June 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered Liquidia from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Zacks Research raised Liquidia from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $68.88.

Liquidia Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $7.74 billion, a PE ratio of 621.76 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $70.04 and a 200-day moving average of $49.42.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. Liquidia had a return on equity of 46.82% and a net margin of 7.74%.The firm had revenue of $132.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $119.44 million. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4187.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Liquidia Corporation will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jason Adair sold 7,863 shares of Liquidia stock in a transaction on Monday, July 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.51, for a total transaction of $562,283.13. Following the transaction, the insider owned 217,126 shares in the company, valued at $15,526,680.26. The trade was a 3.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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, CEO Roger Jeffs sold 35,249 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.51, for a total transaction of $2,520,655.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,130,426 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $80,836,763.26. This trade represents a 3.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,022,134 shares of company stock valued at $129,579,224. 25.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LQDA. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in Liquidia in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Liquidia during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Liquidia by 41.9% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,216 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of Liquidia by 281.2% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,679 shares of the company's stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 4,927 shares during the period. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC raised its holdings in Liquidia by 140.7% in the fourth quarter. Hurley Capital LLC now owns 5,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 3,040 shares in the last quarter. 64.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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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