Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in Liquidia Co. (NASDAQ:LQDA)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Liquidia Co. (NASDAQ:LQDA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 18,507 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Corebridge Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Liquidia by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 31,516 shares of the company's stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Liquidia by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 18,307 shares of the company's stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 1,125 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp increased its stake in Liquidia by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 65,210 shares of the company's stock worth $767,000 after acquiring an additional 2,115 shares during the last quarter. DMC Group LLC increased its stake in Liquidia by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. DMC Group LLC now owns 16,302 shares of the company's stock worth $192,000 after acquiring an additional 2,419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Liquidia by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 15,888 shares of the company's stock worth $187,000 after acquiring an additional 2,685 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.54% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Russell Schundler sold 5,964 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.57, for a total value of $80,931.48. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 570,301 shares in the company, valued at $7,738,984.57. This represents a 1.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Adair sold 1,856 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.57, for a total value of $25,185.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 184,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,501,005.28. This represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,138 shares of company stock valued at $450,233 in the last three months. 26.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Liquidia Stock Down 2.2%

LQDA stock traded down $0.42 during trading on Friday, hitting $18.88. The company had a trading volume of 1,079,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,022,602. The firm has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of -11.58 and a beta of 0.24. Liquidia Co. has a 1-year low of $8.26 and a 1-year high of $19.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $14.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.41.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.45) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.12 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 million. Liquidia had a negative return on equity of 163.21% and a negative net margin of 765.38%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Liquidia Co. will post -1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LQDA. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Liquidia from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Liquidia in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Monday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $27.13.

Liquidia Profile

Liquidia Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company, develops, manufactures, and commercializes various products for unmet patient needs in the United States. Its lead product candidates include YUTREPIA, an inhaled dry powder formulation of treprostinil for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease (PH-ILD).