Liquidia Technologies Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:LQDA)

Key Points

• Liquidia Technologies experienced a significant increase in options trading, with 67,516 call options purchased, marking a 727% rise from the typical volume of 8,164 call options.
• The company's stock price rose by $0.90 to reach $28.58 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, with a total of approximately 3.97 million shares exchanged.
• Despite a quarterly revenue increase of 141.5% year-over-year, Liquidia reported a loss of ($0.49) earnings per share, missing analyst expectations of ($0.43).

Liquidia Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Traders acquired 67,516 call options on the stock. Thisrepresentsanincreaseof727% compared to the typical volume of 8,164 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on LQDA. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Liquidia Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Liquidia Technologies from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on Liquidia Technologies from $33.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on Liquidia Technologies from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on Liquidia Technologies from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.11.

Liquidia Technologies Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of LQDA traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $28.85. 1,409,821 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,019,348. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.84. Liquidia Technologies has a 1-year low of $8.75 and a 1-year high of $29.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a PE ratio of -16.97 and a beta of 0.22. The business has a fifty day moving average of $20.43 and a 200-day moving average of $16.78.

Liquidia Technologies (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 732.17% and a negative return on equity of 232.96%. The firm's revenue was up 141.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Liquidia Technologies will post -1.51 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Liquidia Technologies

In other Liquidia Technologies news, CFO Michael Kaseta sold 30,000 shares of Liquidia Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $600,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 376,412 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,528,240. The trade was a 7.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Rajeev Saggar sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 249,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,954,896.95. This represents a 7.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 835,573 shares of company stock worth $22,514,890. 26.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liquidia Technologies

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its holdings in shares of Liquidia Technologies by 13.2% during the second quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 76,065 shares of the company's stock worth $948,000 after buying an additional 8,885 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of Liquidia Technologies by 281.2% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,679 shares of the company's stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 4,927 shares in the last quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Liquidia Technologies during the second quarter worth about $255,000. Oxford Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in Liquidia Technologies during the second quarter valued at approximately $373,000. Finally, Opaleye Management Inc. boosted its position in Liquidia Technologies by 9.5% during the second quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. now owns 2,475,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,838,000 after purchasing an additional 215,000 shares during the last quarter. 64.54% of the stock is currently 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).