Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Liquidia shares gapped down from $28.02 to $27.06 and were last trading near $27.26, while the stock remained below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Liquidia has an average “Hold” rating, with 6 Holds, 4 Buys/Strong Buys and 2 Sells, alongside an average price target of $83.69.
• The company reported strong year-over-year revenue growth of 1,842.1% but narrowly missed quarterly EPS estimates; meanwhile, insiders sold roughly $46.4 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Shares of Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Friday. The stock had previously closed at $28.02, but opened at $27.06. Liquidia shares last traded at $27.2620, with a volume of 338,318 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on LQDA. Wedbush set a $58.00 price objective on Liquidia in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut Liquidia from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $30.00 price target (down from $108.00) on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $130.00 price target on Liquidia in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Liquidia in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Liquidia currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $83.69.

Liquidia Stock Down 1.1%

The company's fifty day moving average price is $66.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.28 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.02). Liquidia had a return on equity of 149.65% and a net margin of 30.74%.The company had revenue of $171.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.48 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.49) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1842.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Liquidia Corporation will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Raman Singh sold 8,468 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.16, for a total value of $560,242.88. Following the sale, the director directly owned 44,637 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,953,183.92. This represents a 15.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jason Adair sold 73,631 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.09, for a total value of $5,087,165.79. Following the transaction, the insider owned 174,606 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,063,528.54. The trade was a 29.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 757,996 shares of company stock valued at $46,429,005. Company insiders own 25.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Liquidia

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in Liquidia during the 2nd quarter valued at about $335,000. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Liquidia by 5.4% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,627 shares of the company's stock worth $1,405,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of Liquidia during the second quarter valued at approximately $177,000. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new stake in shares of Liquidia during the second quarter valued at approximately $758,000. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in shares of Liquidia during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,236,000. 64.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Liquidia Company Profile

Liquidia Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for patients with serious cardiopulmonary diseases and other rare conditions. The company uses its proprietary PRINT technology to engineer drug particles with controlled size, shape and composition, with the goal of improving the delivery and performance of medicines.

Liquidia's lead product is Yutrepia (treprostinil) inhalation powder, a dry-powder inhaler designed for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).

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