Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $89.51 and last traded at $87.04, with a volume of 3394367 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $80.89.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on LQDA. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 price target (up from $64.00) on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $130.00 price objective on Liquidia in a research report on Friday. BTIG Research lifted their target price on Liquidia from $59.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. HC Wainwright set a $36.00 price target on Liquidia in a research note on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Liquidia in a report on Monday, May 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.18.

Liquidia Stock Down 3.2%

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.08. The company has a market capitalization of $7.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 615.90 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 2.03.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $132.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $119.44 million. Liquidia had a return on equity of 46.82% and a net margin of 7.74%.The firm’s revenue was up 4187.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Liquidia Corporation will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen M. Bloch sold 318,893 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.23, for a total value of $16,017,995.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,870,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $93,932,209.66. This trade represents a 14.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul B. Manning sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.91, for a total transaction of $12,782,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 716,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,779,436.01. The trade was a 21.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,022,134 shares of company stock valued at $129,579,224. 25.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liquidia

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LQDA. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Liquidia by 4.7% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 37,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Liquidia by 10.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 861,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,703,000 after purchasing an additional 82,955 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Liquidia by 15.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 121,756 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,796,000 after purchasing an additional 16,022 shares during the period. Creative Planning grew its stake in Liquidia by 40.7% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 26,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 7,765 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Liquidia by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 94,152 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 11,111 shares in the last quarter. 64.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).