Liquidia Technologies (NASDAQ:LQDA) Stock Price Up 5.6% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Liquidia Technologies (NASDAQ:LQDA) shares increased by 5.6% on Thursday, reaching a high of $24.53, despite a significant decline in trading volume.
• Analysts have set a consensus target price of $32.38 for Liquidia, with a mix of ratings including one "Strong Buy" and two "Sell" ratings.
• The company reported a 141.5% year-over-year increase in revenue for the last quarter, although it still missed earnings expectations with an EPS of ($0.49).

Liquidia Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 5.6% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $24.53 and last traded at $24.46. Approximately 508,783 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 1,936,188 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.16.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LQDA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Liquidia Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Liquidia Technologies from $33.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Liquidia Technologies in a report on Monday, October 6th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Liquidia Technologies from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Liquidia Technologies from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.38.

Liquidia Technologies Stock Up 0.9%

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 company has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.83 and a beta of 0.15. The stock's fifty day moving average is $25.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.50.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Roger Jeffs sold 20,261 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.41, for a total value of $474,310.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,032,973 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,181,897.93. This trade represents a 1.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Adair sold 26,057 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 171,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,764,867.94. This trade represents a 13.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 881,419 shares of company stock worth $24,210,818 in the last 90 days. 26.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whitcomb & Hess Inc. boosted its holdings in Liquidia Technologies by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Whitcomb & Hess Inc. now owns 28,385 shares of the company's stock valued at $645,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Liquidia Technologies by 10.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 12,139 shares of the company's stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,173 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Liquidia Technologies by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 18,641 shares of the company's stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 1,283 shares during the last quarter. 64.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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