Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Shares Gap Up - What's Next?

Liquidia Co. (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $14.92, but opened at $16.74. Liquidia shares last traded at $16.32, with a volume of 1,044,089 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on Liquidia from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Liquidia in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Liquidia from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Liquidia from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Liquidia from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Liquidia has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $26.67.

Liquidia Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.13 and a beta of 0.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $14.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.92.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.45) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.42) by ($0.03). Liquidia had a negative return on equity of 163.21% and a negative net margin of 765.38%. The business had revenue of $3.12 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.23 million. Equities research analysts predict that Liquidia Co. will post -1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Liquidia news, insider Jason Adair sold 1,856 shares of Liquidia stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.57, for a total value of $25,185.92. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 184,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,501,005.28. This trade represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roger Jeffs sold 14,130 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.57, for a total transaction of $191,744.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,006,420 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,657,119.40. The trade was a 1.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,138 shares of company stock valued at $450,233. 26.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LQDA. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in Liquidia by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 80,652 shares of the company's stock valued at $948,000 after buying an additional 2,741 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp grew its holdings in Liquidia by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 65,210 shares of the company's stock valued at $767,000 after purchasing an additional 2,115 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Liquidia by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 188,584 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,218,000 after buying an additional 6,034 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Liquidia in the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Liquidia by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 428,570 shares of the company's stock worth $5,040,000 after buying an additional 38,313 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.54% of the company's stock.

About Liquidia

Liquidia Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company, develops, manufactures, and commercializes various products for unmet patient needs in the United States. Its lead product candidates include YUTREPIA, an inhaled dry powder formulation of treprostinil for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease (PH-ILD).