Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Reaches New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Liquidia shares reached a new 52-week high of $91.36, closing around $90.87 and up 1.6% on the session.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with a MarketBeat consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.18; several firms recently raised targets as high as $130.
• The company beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, while revenue surged 4,187.1% year over year. However, insiders sold about 2.18 million shares worth $143.9 million over the past 90 days.

Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $91.36 and last traded at $90.87, with a volume of 122736 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $88.38.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on LQDA shares. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Liquidia from $54.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. BTIG Research raised their price target on Liquidia from $59.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Stephens set a $130.00 price target on Liquidia in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Liquidia in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Liquidia from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.18.

Liquidia Stock Up 1.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 2.03. The company has a market capitalization of $7.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 645.00 and a beta of 0.58. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $74.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.72.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $119.44 million. Liquidia had a net margin of 7.74% and a return on equity of 46.82%. Liquidia's revenue was up 4187.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Liquidia Corporation will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Liquidia

In other Liquidia news, Director Paul B. Manning sold 200,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.91, for a total value of $12,782,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 716,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,779,436.01. This represents a 21.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen M. Bloch sold 318,893 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.23, for a total value of $16,017,995.39. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,870,042 shares in the company, valued at $93,932,209.66. This trade represents a 14.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 2,175,754 shares of company stock valued at $143,922,108 over the last ninety days. 25.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liquidia

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. TCG Crossover Management LLC purchased a new position in Liquidia during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,887,000. MPM Bioimpact LLC grew its position in shares of Liquidia by 600.4% in the fourth quarter. MPM Bioimpact LLC now owns 1,400,869 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,316,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,869 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Liquidia during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $12,571,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Liquidia by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,287,792 shares of the company's stock worth $86,341,000 after purchasing an additional 360,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Liquidia by 428.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 420,621 shares of the company's stock worth $14,507,000 after purchasing an additional 341,009 shares during the last quarter. 64.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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