Oppenheimer Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Stock

Key Points

• Oppenheimer raised its target on Liquidia to $19 from $16 but maintained an "underperform" rating, implying about a 48.5% downside from the stock price at the time of the report.
• Other analysts are far more bullish — several firms raised targets into the $50s and MarketBeat's consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $42.67, highlighting wide divergence in analyst views.
• Liquidia beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates with revenue up roughly 3,072% YoY, but the company remains unprofitable (negative net margin and ROE) with analysts forecasting a full-year negative EPS; insiders have sold shares while institutions hold about 64.5% of the stock.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by equities research analysts at Oppenheimer from $16.00 to $19.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "underperform" rating on the stock. Oppenheimer's price target points to a potential downside of 48.53% from the stock's current price.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Liquidia from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. HC Wainwright upped their price target on Liquidia from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Liquidia from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Liquidia from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.67.

Liquidia Price Performance

Liquidia stock traded down $1.64 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $36.92. 864,871 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,084,879. Liquidia has a 12-month low of $11.26 and a 12-month high of $46.67. The company has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -44.47 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $37.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $92.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.49 million. Liquidia had a negative net margin of 43.53% and a negative return on equity of 209.33%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3072.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Liquidia will post -1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Liquidia

In other Liquidia news, insider Jason Adair sold 688 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.65, for a total transaction of $28,655.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 211,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,795,188.85. This trade represents a 0.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Rajeev Saggar sold 21,142 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total transaction of $791,345.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 176,883 shares in the company, valued at $6,620,730.69. This represents a 10.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 212,534 shares of company stock worth $7,964,719 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 26.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liquidia

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in Liquidia in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Liquidia during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new stake in shares of Liquidia in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Liquidia during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. 64.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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