Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Stock Price Up 8.7% - Time to Buy?

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LQDA. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Liquidia from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Liquidia from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Liquidia from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of Liquidia from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Liquidia presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $26.67.

Liquidia Stock Performance

The business's 50 day moving average is $14.89 and its 200 day moving average is $13.92. The company has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.06 and a beta of 0.24.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Rajeev Saggar sold 2,450 shares of Liquidia stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.67, for a total value of $33,491.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 263,152 shares in the company, valued at $3,597,287.84. This trade represents a 0.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Russell Schundler sold 5,964 shares of Liquidia stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.57, for a total transaction of $80,931.48. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 570,301 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,738,984.57. The trade was a 1.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,138 shares of company stock worth $450,233 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 26.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Liquidia

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LQDA. LM Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Liquidia during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,948,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Liquidia by 2,675.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 700,171 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,234,000 after acquiring an additional 674,940 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Liquidia by 1,484.5% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 535,552 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,293,000 after acquiring an additional 501,752 shares during the period. Mirabella Financial Services LLP acquired a new stake in Liquidia during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,880,000. Finally, Eversept Partners LP lifted its stake in Liquidia by 314.1% during the 4th quarter. Eversept Partners LP now owns 571,305 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,719,000 after acquiring an additional 433,356 shares during the period. 64.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).