Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Shares Up 13.5% on Strong Earnings

Key Points

• Liquidia shares jumped 13.5% after the company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings per share of $0.52 versus the $0.41 consensus. The stock traded as high as $46.28 during the session.
• The company’s revenue surged 4,187.1% year over year, though it still posted negative profitability metrics including a negative net margin and return on equity.
• Wall Street sentiment remains positive overall, with multiple analysts upgrading the stock and an average Moderate Buy rating. The average price target stands at $43.44, while recent insider sales and heavy institutional ownership also featured in the report.

Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) shot up 13.5% during trading on Monday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $46.28 and last traded at $48.0260. 1,055,256 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 35% from the average session volume of 1,615,838 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.30.

The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.11. Liquidia had a negative return on equity of 209.33% and a negative net margin of 43.53%.The firm's revenue was up 4187.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LQDA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Liquidia from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Liquidia from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Liquidia from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Liquidia from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Liquidia from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.44.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jason Adair sold 688 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.65, for a total transaction of $28,655.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 214,738 shares in the company, valued at $8,943,837.70. This represents a 0.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.09, for a total transaction of $1,052,250.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,348,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,741,318.55. The trade was a 1.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 628,820 shares of company stock worth $24,801,008. Corporate insiders own 25.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liquidia

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LQDA. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Liquidia by 102.1% during the third quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 8,565,638 shares of the company's stock valued at $194,783,000 after buying an additional 4,326,876 shares during the last quarter. TCG Crossover Management LLC purchased a new stake in Liquidia in the third quarter worth approximately $38,887,000. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in Liquidia in the third quarter worth approximately $37,114,000. MPM Bioimpact LLC boosted its holdings in Liquidia by 600.4% in the fourth quarter. MPM Bioimpact LLC now owns 1,400,869 shares of the company's stock worth $48,316,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,869 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Liquidia in the third quarter worth approximately $12,571,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.54% of the company's stock.

Liquidia Stock Up 17.8%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. The company has a market cap of $4.43 billion, a PE ratio of -60.03 and a beta of 0.41. The company's fifty day moving average is $36.96 and its 200-day moving average is $34.71.

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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