Liquidia Technologies Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:LQDA)

Key Points

• Liquidia Technologies saw a significant spike in call options trading, with investors purchasing 12,796 call options—an increase of approximately 105% from the typical volume.
• The company’s stock price increased by 14.0%, reaching $24.17 during mid-day trading, with a total trading volume of over 3.4 million shares.
• Liquidia reported a quarterly earnings miss, with an EPS of ($0.49), falling short of analysts' expectations, although its revenue increased by 141.5% compared to the previous year.

Liquidia Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 12,796 call options on the stock. Thisisanincreaseofapproximately105% compared to the average volume of 6,238 call options.

Liquidia Technologies Price Performance

Liquidia Technologies stock traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $25.95. The stock had a trading volume of 2,835,429 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,389,637. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.84, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 2.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.26 and a beta of 0.14. Liquidia Technologies has a 1-year low of $8.26 and a 1-year high of $26.65. The stock's fifty day moving average is $16.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.52.

Liquidia Technologies (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.49) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.43) by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $8.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 million. Liquidia Technologies had a negative net margin of 732.17% and a negative return on equity of 232.96%. Liquidia Technologies's revenue for the quarter was up 141.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Liquidia Technologies will post -1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Liquidia Technologies

In other news, insider Rajeev Saggar sold 5,327 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.28, for a total value of $76,069.56. Following the transaction, the insider owned 271,413 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,875,777.64. The trade was a 1.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Kaseta sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $600,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 376,412 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,528,240. This represents a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 90,277 shares of company stock valued at $1,469,392 over the last 90 days. 26.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Liquidia Technologies

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LQDA. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Liquidia Technologies during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Liquidia Technologies during the first quarter valued at $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Liquidia Technologies by 65.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,961 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,173 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Liquidia Technologies during the first quarter valued at $79,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Liquidia Technologies by 24.0% during the second quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.54% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Liquidia Technologies from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Liquidia Technologies from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of Liquidia Technologies from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Oppenheimer set a $13.00 price objective on Liquidia Technologies and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Liquidia Technologies from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Liquidia Technologies has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.40.

About Liquidia Technologies

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).