Liquidia Technologies (NASDAQ:LQDA) Reaches New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Liquidia Technologies reached a new 52-week high, trading at $20.38, with a volume of 625,086 shares.
• Analysts have shown increased confidence in the stock, with multiple price target upgrades, including a boost from HC Wainwright from $29.00 to $35.00 and Wells Fargo from $23.00 to $25.00.
• The company reported a quarterly loss of ($0.45) EPS, missing expectations, with analysts forecasting a current year EPS of -1.51.

Liquidia Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $20.38 and last traded at $20.14, with a volume of 625086 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.07.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LQDA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. HC Wainwright increased their price target on Liquidia Technologies from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Liquidia Technologies from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Liquidia Technologies in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised Liquidia Technologies from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on Liquidia Technologies from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $26.89.

Liquidia Technologies Stock Up 1.5%

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $15.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.93 and a quick ratio of 2.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a PE ratio of -12.90 and a beta of 0.14.

Liquidia Technologies (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $3.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.23 million. Analysts forecast that Liquidia Technologies, Inc. will post -1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Liquidia Technologies

In other news, insider Rajeev Saggar sold 2,526 shares of Liquidia Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.54, for a total value of $36,728.04. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 268,887 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,909,616.98. The trade was a 0.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Adair sold 2,576 shares of Liquidia Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.28, for a total value of $36,785.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 193,634 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,765,093.52. This represents a 1.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 60,277 shares of company stock valued at $869,392. 30.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Liquidia Technologies by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 31,243 shares of the company's stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 1,277 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Liquidia Technologies by 53.4% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 51,075 shares of the company's stock valued at $601,000 after buying an additional 17,790 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Liquidia Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Liquidia Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $526,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Liquidia Technologies by 2,342.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 43,675 shares of the company's stock valued at $644,000 after buying an additional 41,887 shares during the period. 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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