Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Stock Falls 5.8% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Liquidia shares fell 5.8% to $69.38 in Tuesday trading, with volume down 91% from the average session.
• Analyst views remain mixed: the stock has a consensus “Hold” rating and a $98.08 price target, despite several bullish targets above $100.
• The company reported $171.68 million in quarterly revenue, up 1,842% year over year, but missed earnings expectations slightly; insiders have sold 622,519 shares worth about $48.1 million over the past quarter.

Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 5.8% during trading on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $70.14 and last traded at $69.38. 144,867 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 1,699,143 shares. The stock had previously closed at $73.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on LQDA shares. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $130.00 price target on Liquidia in a report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Liquidia from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Piper Sandler set a $129.00 price objective on Liquidia in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Liquidia from $70.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Liquidia from $79.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Liquidia presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $98.08.

Liquidia Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a PE ratio of 50.55 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 2.12.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $171.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.48 million. Liquidia had a net margin of 30.74% and a return on equity of 149.65%. The business's revenue was up 1842.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.49) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Liquidia Corporation will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Liquidia news, CAO Dana Boyle sold 1,600 shares of Liquidia stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.53, for a total value of $140,048.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 167,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,697,950.07. The trade was a 0.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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. Also, insider Jason Adair sold 73,631 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.09, for a total transaction of $5,087,165.79. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 174,606 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,063,528.54. This represents a 29.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 622,519 shares of company stock worth $48,078,514. Corporate insiders own 25.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liquidia

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Liquidia by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,304 shares of the company's stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in Liquidia by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 17,165 shares of the company's stock worth $648,000 after buying an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Liquidia by 5.4% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,627 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,405,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of Liquidia by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 120,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,544,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Liquidia by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 20,546 shares of the company's stock valued at $775,000 after acquiring an additional 1,905 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.54% of the company's stock.

About Liquidia

Liquidia Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing medicines for patients with serious cardiopulmonary conditions, including pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The company is headquartered in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and serves healthcare providers and patients primarily in the United States.

Liquidia's lead product is Yutrepia, an inhaled formulation of treprostinil designed for the treatment of PAH. The company has also developed treprostinil injection products and is pursuing additional therapies for rare cardiopulmonary diseases.

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