Liquidia Technologies (NASDAQ:LQDA) Hits New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Liquidia Technologies reached a new 52-week high with shares peaking at $19.76 during trading, closing at $19.57.
• Several analysts have boosted their price targets for LQDA, with Raymond James setting a target of $29.00 and HC Wainwright at $35.00, reflecting strong bullish sentiments.
• The company reported an earnings miss with an EPS of ($0.45), falling short of the consensus estimate, along with revenues of $3.12 million.
• Insider trading activity included significant sales by CFO Michael Kaseta and General Counsel Russell Schundler, with total insider sales amounting to $846,229 over the last three months.

Liquidia Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $19.76 and last traded at $19.57, with a volume of 735558 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.77.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LQDA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on Liquidia Technologies from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Liquidia Technologies from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Liquidia Technologies from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on Liquidia Technologies from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $13.00 price target on Liquidia Technologies and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Liquidia Technologies has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $26.89.

Liquidia Technologies Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.00 and a beta of -0.01. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 2.91 and a current ratio of 2.93.

Liquidia Technologies (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.45) 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 analyst estimates of $3.23 million. Liquidia Technologies had a negative return on equity of 177.91% and a negative net margin of 903.80%. Equities research analysts forecast that Liquidia Technologies, Inc. will post -1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Michael Kaseta sold 11,580 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.28, for a total value of $165,362.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 406,412 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,803,563.36. The trade was a 2.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Russell Schundler sold 7,836 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.28, for a total value of $111,898.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 577,977 shares in the company, valued at $8,253,511.56. This represents a 1.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 59,215 shares of company stock worth $846,229 over the last three months. Insiders own 26.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Liquidia Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $218,000. Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of Liquidia Technologies by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 107,900 shares of the company's stock worth $1,269,000 after buying an additional 18,400 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in Liquidia Technologies by 42.0% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 16,322 shares of the company's stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 4,825 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Liquidia Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at about $169,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Liquidia Technologies by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,557,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,834,000 after buying an additional 115,367 shares during the last quarter. 64.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Liquidia Technologies 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).

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