Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Stock Price Down 6.3% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Liquidia shares fell 6.3% on Monday, trading as low as $70.85 before last changing hands at $73.25, with volume below its average for the session.
• Recent analyst activity was mixed: one firm downgraded the stock to buy, while others reiterated positive or negative views. The consensus from MarketBeat is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $68.88.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS and revenue both topping estimates, but insiders have also been active sellers, including a director’s 100,000-share sale.

Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 6.3% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $70.85 and last traded at $73.25. Approximately 1,614,717 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 13% from the average session volume of 1,859,574 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.17.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on LQDA shares. Wall Street Zen cut Liquidia from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Oppenheimer set a $75.00 price target on Liquidia in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research raised Liquidia from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Liquidia currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $68.88.

Liquidia Stock Down 5.1%

The business's fifty day moving average price is $56.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.80. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.60 billion, a PE ratio of 530.43 and a beta of 0.57.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $132.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $119.44 million. Liquidia had a return on equity of 46.82% and a net margin of 7.74%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 4187.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Liquidia Corporation will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Liquidia news, Director Stephen M. Bloch sold 100,000 shares of Liquidia stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.74, for a total value of $7,574,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 880,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,656,729.02. This trade represents a 10.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sanjeev Khindri sold 4,134 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.46, for a total value of $270,611.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 67,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,394,460.72. The trade was a 5.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,302,030 shares of company stock valued at $132,996,894. 25.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liquidia

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LQDA. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Liquidia by 4.7% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 37,681 shares of the company's stock valued at $556,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Liquidia by 10.7% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 861,231 shares of the company's stock worth $12,703,000 after buying an additional 82,955 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Liquidia by 15.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 121,756 shares of the company's stock worth $1,796,000 after acquiring an additional 16,022 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Liquidia by 40.7% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 26,840 shares of the company's stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 7,765 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Liquidia by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 94,152 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,174,000 after acquiring an additional 11,111 shares during the period. 64.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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