Michael Kaseta Sells 20,430 Shares of Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Stock

Key Points

• Liquidia CFO Michael Kaseta sold 20,430 shares at an average price of $71.51, totaling about $1.46 million, in a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 transaction to cover tax withholding tied to vesting equity awards.
• The sale reduced Kaseta’s direct ownership by 5.58%, though he still held 345,805 shares valued at roughly $24.7 million after the trade.
• Liquidia shares were up 7.4% to $76.49, and the company recently reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates as analysts maintained a generally Moderate Buy outlook.

Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) CFO Michael Kaseta sold 20,430 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.51, for a total transaction of $1,460,949.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 345,805 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,728,515.55. This trade represents a 5.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Michael Kaseta also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, April 15th, Michael Kaseta sold 139,390 shares of Liquidia stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.14, for a total value of $5,595,114.60.

Liquidia Trading Up 7.4%

NASDAQ:LQDA traded up $5.28 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $76.49. 1,153,916 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,219,263. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 546.40 and a beta of 0.55. The firm's fifty day moving average is $66.37 and its 200-day moving average is $47.52. Liquidia Corporation has a 12-month low of $14.04 and a 12-month high of $82.96. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $132.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $119.44 million. Liquidia had a net margin of 7.74% and a return on equity of 46.82%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4187.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Liquidia Corporation will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LQDA. Oppenheimer set a $75.00 price target on Liquidia in a report on Friday, June 5th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Liquidia from $54.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Liquidia from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Liquidia from $59.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $68.88.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liquidia

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LQDA. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Liquidia in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Liquidia during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Liquidia during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Liquidia by 41.9% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,216 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Liquidia 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. 64.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Liquidia Company Profile

Liquidia Technologies, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. The company leverages its proprietary PRINT® (Particle Replication In Non-wetting Templates) platform to engineer precisely shaped and sized drug particles, with the goal of improving delivery, efficacy and safety profiles. By controlling particle characteristics at the nanoscale, Liquidia seeks to enhance respiratory and other therapies that depend on targeted delivery.

The company's lead product candidate, LIQ861, is a dry powder formulation of treprostinil designed for inhalation in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).

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