Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $39.6667.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut Liquidia from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $49.00 price target on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Liquidia from $36.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Liquidia in a report on Monday, October 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $31.00 target price for the company.

Liquidia Price Performance

Shares of LQDA opened at $42.47 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $34.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.19. Liquidia has a 1 year low of $11.26 and a 1 year high of $43.42.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.45) by $0.41. Liquidia had a negative return on equity of 296.78% and a negative net margin of 176.04%.The business had revenue of $54.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.86 million. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1106.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Liquidia will post -1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Russell Schundler sold 27,289 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total value of $1,021,427.27. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 579,394 shares in the company, valued at $21,686,717.42. This represents a 4.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Michael Kaseta sold 36,932 shares of Liquidia stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total value of $1,382,364.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 350,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,134,898.17. This trade represents a 9.52% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 321,589 shares of company stock valued at $11,006,259. 30.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liquidia

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 4,326,876 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Liquidia by 10.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,961,217 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,078,000 after purchasing an additional 367,659 shares during the period. Opaleye Management Inc. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 215,000 shares in the last quarter. TCG Crossover Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Liquidia in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,887,000. Finally, Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Liquidia during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,114,000. Institutional investors own 64.54% of the company’s stock.

About Liquidia

Liquidia Technologies, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. The company leverages its proprietary PRINT® (Particle Replication In Non-wetting Templates) platform to engineer precisely shaped and sized drug particles, with the goal of improving delivery, efficacy and safety profiles. By controlling particle characteristics at the nanoscale, Liquidia seeks to enhance respiratory and other therapies that depend on targeted delivery.

The company’s lead product candidate, LIQ861, is a dry powder formulation of treprostinil designed for inhalation in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).