Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $33.27 and last traded at $33.42, with a volume of 484614 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.79.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Liquidia in a research note on Monday, October 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Liquidia in a report on Monday, November 3rd. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $49.00 price target on shares of Liquidia in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Liquidia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their price target on Liquidia from $35.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.56.

Liquidia Trading Up 8.1%

The firm has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.28 and a beta of 0.48. The business’s 50 day moving average is $25.57 and its 200-day moving average is $21.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.19.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.45) by $0.41. The company had revenue of $54.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.86 million. Liquidia had a negative net margin of 176.04% and a negative return on equity of 296.78%. The business’s revenue was up 1106.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Liquidia Corporation will post -1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Liquidia

In other Liquidia news, insider Rajeev Saggar sold 71,381 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total value of $1,927,287.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 176,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,766,823. This trade represents a 28.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Russell Schundler sold 1,072 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.19, for a total value of $34,507.68. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 577,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,582,900.72. This represents a 0.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 215,168 shares of company stock valued at $5,675,425 in the last ninety days. 30.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liquidia

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Liquidia by 102.1% in the 3rd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 8,565,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,783,000 after purchasing an additional 4,326,876 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Liquidia by 10.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,961,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,078,000 after buying an additional 367,659 shares in the last quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Liquidia by 9.5% in the second quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. now owns 2,475,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,838,000 after buying an additional 215,000 shares during the period. TCG Crossover Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Liquidia in the third quarter worth approximately $38,887,000. Finally, Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Liquidia during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,114,000. 64.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Liquidia

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).