Liquidia Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LQDA) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Liquidia Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 16,590,000 shares, an increase of 22.9% from the May 15th total of 13,500,000 shares. Currently, 28.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,700,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 9.8 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on LQDA. Oppenheimer set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Liquidia Technologies and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Liquidia Technologies from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Liquidia Technologies from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. HC Wainwright raised their price target on shares of Liquidia Technologies from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their price target on shares of Liquidia Technologies from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One equities 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $26.89.

Liquidia Technologies Price Performance

NASDAQ:LQDA traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $13.64. 1,463,501 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,214,854. The business's 50-day moving average price is $15.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.17. The company has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of -8.63 and a beta of 0.04. Liquidia Technologies has a 12-month low of $8.26 and a 12-month high of $19.41. The company has a quick ratio of 2.91, a current ratio of 2.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08.

Liquidia Technologies (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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). Liquidia Technologies had a negative return on equity of 177.91% and a negative net margin of 903.80%. The company had revenue of $3.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.23 million. On average, analysts expect that Liquidia Technologies will post -1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Liquidia Technologies

In other Liquidia Technologies news, General Counsel Russell Schundler sold 5,964 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.57, for a total value of $80,931.48. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 570,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,738,984.57. This trade represents a 1.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 firm'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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,006,420 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,657,119.40. The trade was a 1.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,138 shares of company stock valued at $450,233 in the last quarter. Insiders own 26.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liquidia Technologies

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Liquidia Technologies by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 31,243 shares of the company's stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Liquidia Technologies by 53.4% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 51,075 shares of the company's stock valued at $601,000 after purchasing an additional 17,790 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Liquidia Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $218,000. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in Liquidia Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $526,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Liquidia Technologies by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 428,570 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,040,000 after buying an additional 38,313 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.54% of the company's stock.

About Liquidia Technologies

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).

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