Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Trading Up 6% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Liquidia shares rose about 6% to roughly $69.68, although trading volume was significantly below average. The company has a $6.18 billion market capitalization and trades below its average analyst price target of $98.08.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Needham raised its target to $110 and Raymond James maintained a $106 “strong-buy” target, while Bank of America remained neutral and other analysts issued sell ratings. MarketBeat’s overall consensus rating is “Hold.”
• Liquidia reported quarterly revenue of $171.68 million, up 1,842% year over year and above estimates, but EPS of $0.74 narrowly missed expectations. Insiders have sold more than 722,000 shares worth approximately $55.7 million over the past 90 days.

Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $69.87 and last traded at $69.6840. Approximately 402,522 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 1,716,924 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.72.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Liquidia from $79.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Liquidia from $70.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Liquidia in a report on Friday, July 17th. HC Wainwright set a $36.00 price target on Liquidia in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $106.00 price target on shares of Liquidia in a report on Thursday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Liquidia has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $98.08.

Liquidia Trading Up 5.1%

The company has a market cap of $6.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.49 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $76.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.93.

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

Insider Activity at Liquidia

In other news, insider Rajeev Saggar sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.06, for a total value of $3,703,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 142,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,536,145.90. The trade was a 26.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Stephen Bloch sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.74, for a total value of $7,574,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 880,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $66,656,729.02. This trade represents a 10.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 722,519 shares of company stock valued at $55,652,514. Corporate insiders own 25.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liquidia

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

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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