Liquidia Technologies (NASDAQ:LQDA) Shares Up 5.3% Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Liquidia Technologies' share price increased by 5.3% after Raymond James Financial raised their price target from $33.00 to $41.00, maintaining a strong-buy rating on the stock.
• A total of 90,277 shares were sold by company insiders recently, with notable sales by the CEO and another insider, decreasing their ownership stakes.
• Liquidia Technologies reported a 141.5% year-over-year increase in quarterly revenue, reaching $8.84 million, despite missing earnings per share estimates.

Liquidia Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) shares were up 5.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Raymond James Financial raised their price target on the stock from $33.00 to $41.00. Raymond James Financial currently has a strong-buy rating on the stock. Liquidia Technologies traded as high as $26.39 and last traded at $26.53. Approximately 2,712,016 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 55% from the average daily volume of 1,754,774 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.20.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Liquidia Technologies from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating on shares of Liquidia Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Liquidia Technologies from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Oppenheimer set a $13.00 price target on Liquidia Technologies and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on Liquidia Technologies from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $32.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Liquidia Technologies news, insider Sarah Krepp sold 2,673 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.28, for a total value of $38,170.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 142,499 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,034,885.72. This trade represents a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Kaseta sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $600,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 376,412 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,528,240. This trade represents a 7.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 90,277 shares of company stock valued at $1,469,392 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 30.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liquidia Technologies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LQDA. Opaleye Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Liquidia Technologies by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. now owns 2,475,000 shares of the company's stock worth $30,838,000 after buying an additional 215,000 shares during the last quarter. Whitefort Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Liquidia Technologies by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Whitefort Capital Management LP now owns 1,987,245 shares of the company's stock worth $23,370,000 after buying an additional 285,220 shares during the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP raised its stake in shares of Liquidia Technologies by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 1,760,000 shares of the company's stock worth $20,698,000 after buying an additional 260,000 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Liquidia Technologies by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,405,747 shares of the company's stock worth $17,517,000 after buying an additional 32,499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tyro Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Liquidia Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth $15,473,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.54% of the company's stock.

Liquidia Technologies Stock Down 2.2%

The firm has a market cap of $2.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.95 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $16.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.71.

Liquidia Technologies (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $8.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 million. Liquidia Technologies had a negative return on equity of 232.96% and a negative net margin of 732.17%.The firm's revenue was up 141.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Liquidia Technologies, Inc. will post -1.51 EPS for the current year.

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).