Liquidia Technologies (NASDAQ:LQDA) Shares Gap Up - What's Next?

Key Points

• Liquidia Technologies' stock price gapped up from $21.94 to $22.48 before closing at $22.76, with significant trading volume of 569,866 shares.
• Several analysts have increased their target price for Liquidia Technologies, with ratings ranging from "strong buy" to "overweight," reflecting positive market sentiment toward the stock.
• The company reported a revenue increase of 141.5% year-over-year, although it missed EPS estimates, prompting a forecast of -1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Liquidia Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $21.94, but opened at $22.48. Liquidia Technologies shares last traded at $22.76, with a volume of 569,866 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on LQDA shares. Scotiabank increased their target price on Liquidia Technologies from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on Liquidia Technologies from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Liquidia Technologies from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on Liquidia Technologies from $33.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Liquidia Technologies in a report on Friday, August 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $32.11.

Liquidia Technologies Trading Up 10.2%

The firm has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.21 and a beta of 0.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.84, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a current ratio of 2.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $23.60 and a 200-day moving average of $17.66.

Liquidia Technologies (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.49) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.43) by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $8.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.90 million. Liquidia Technologies had a negative return on equity of 232.96% and a negative net margin of 732.17%.Liquidia Technologies's revenue for the quarter was up 141.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Liquidia Technologies, Inc. will post -1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Liquidia Technologies news, insider Jason Adair sold 26,057 shares of Liquidia Technologies stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.86, for a total transaction of $725,948.02. Following the sale, the insider owned 171,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,764,867.94. The trade was a 13.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Rajeev Saggar sold 20,000 shares of Liquidia Technologies stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.85, for a total value of $557,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 249,727 shares in the company, valued at $6,954,896.95. The trade was a 7.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 881,097 shares of company stock worth $23,689,864 over the last ninety days. 26.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Liquidia Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LQDA. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Liquidia Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in Liquidia Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Liquidia Technologies by 65.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,961 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,173 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Liquidia Technologies by 24.0% during the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Liquidia Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at $79,000. Institutional investors own 64.54% of the company's stock.

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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