Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Raised to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Liquidia to strong-buy from buy, adding to a broadly bullish analyst backdrop for the stock.
• Other firms have also turned positive, including BTIG raising its price target to $59 and several analysts issuing or reaffirming strong-buy ratings. MarketBeat says Liquidia now has a Moderate Buy consensus and a $49.33 average price target.
• Liquidia’s latest quarterly results beat expectations on both earnings and revenue, with revenue surging year over year and commentary pointing to growing commercial traction for YUTREPIA.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on LQDA. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Liquidia from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Lifesci Capital raised Liquidia to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Zacks Research raised Liquidia from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Liquidia from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Three 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Liquidia currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $49.33.

Liquidia Trading Down 4.0%

Shares of LQDA stock opened at $56.93 on Friday. Liquidia has a 12-month low of $11.85 and a 12-month high of $59.75. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $39.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 406.67 and a beta of 0.41.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share 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 firm's revenue was up 4187.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Liquidia will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Dana Boyle sold 1,576 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.78, for a total value of $59,541.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 175,342 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,624,420.76. This represents a 0.89% 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 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.04, for a total value of $1,426,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,198,095 shares in the company, valued at $68,339,338.80. This represents a 2.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,022,713 shares of company stock worth $44,689,753. 25.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pale Fire Capital SE lifted its stake in Liquidia by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE now owns 388,377 shares of the company's stock worth $14,657,000 after purchasing an additional 8,985 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Liquidia by 306.3% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 35,655 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,346,000 after buying an additional 26,879 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in Liquidia by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 120,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,544,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Liquidia in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $772,000. Finally, Archer Investment Corp acquired a new stake in Liquidia in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $259,000. 64.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Liquidia

Here are the key news stories impacting Liquidia this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Liquidia’s first-quarter results beat Wall Street expectations on both earnings and revenue, reinforcing confidence that YUTREPIA is gaining commercial traction and that profitability is improving. Results: Liquidia Corporation Beat Earnings Expectations And Analysts Now Have New Forecasts
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts raised estimates and price targets after the earnings report, including HC Wainwright boosting near-term EPS forecasts and keeping a Buy rating with a $67 target, which supports the bullish outlook on LQDA. Liquidia (LQDA) price target increased by 22.37% to 63.24
• Positive Sentiment: Valuation-focused commentary highlighted that YUTREPIA-driven profitability and strong first-quarter performance could justify Liquidia’s recent share price strength if launch momentum continues. A Look At Liquidia (LQDA) Valuation After YUTREPIA Fueled Profitability And Strong First Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks noted improving earnings estimate revisions, suggesting analysts see additional upside potential for Liquidia in the near term. Earnings Estimates Moving Higher for Liquidia Corporation (LQDA): Time to Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: Director Stephen Bloch sold 318,893 shares, a notable insider transaction, but it does not necessarily signal a change in the company’s operating outlook. Stephen Bloch Sells 318,893 Shares of Liquidia NASDAQ: LQDA Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: One analyst lowered a longer-dated EPS estimate, showing there is still some disagreement on how quickly growth can scale over time. Liquidia stock and analyst reports

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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