Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Trading Up 8.7% - Here's Why

Liquidia Co. (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) rose 8.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $18.09 and last traded at $17.97. Approximately 1,505,215 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 36% from the average daily volume of 1,105,742 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.53.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LQDA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer set a $13.00 price objective on Liquidia and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Liquidia from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Liquidia from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. 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. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Liquidia from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $26.67.

Liquidia Trading Up 0.7%

The company's fifty day simple moving average is $14.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.13 and a beta of 0.24.

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 the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.12 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.23 million. Liquidia had a negative net margin of 765.38% and a negative return on equity of 163.21%. On average, analysts predict that Liquidia Co. will post -1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Liquidia

In other news, General Counsel Russell Schundler sold 5,964 shares of the business's 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 $80,931.48. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 570,301 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,738,984.57. The trade was a 1.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Roger Jeffs sold 14,130 shares of the company's 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 $191,744.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,006,420 shares in the company, valued at $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 90 days, insiders sold 33,138 shares of company stock valued at $450,233. 26.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liquidia

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LQDA. Corebridge Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Liquidia by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 31,516 shares of the company's stock valued at $371,000 after acquiring an additional 694 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Liquidia by 65.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,961 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 1,173 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Liquidia by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 31,243 shares of the company's stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in Liquidia by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 18,641 shares of the company's stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 1,283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Liquidia by 6.4% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 25,308 shares of the company's stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,523 shares during the period. 64.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Liquidia Company Profile

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).