Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Monday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $24.36, but opened at $27.12. Liquidia shares last traded at $23.1110, with a volume of 2,754,751 shares traded.

The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.45) by $0.41. The business had revenue of $54.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.86 million. Liquidia had a negative return on equity of 232.96% and a negative net margin of 732.17%.Liquidia’s revenue was up 1106.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on LQDA shares. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on Liquidia from $33.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Liquidia from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Liquidia currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Rajeev Saggar sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.85, for a total value of $557,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 249,727 shares in the company, valued at $6,954,896.95. The trade was a 7.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Paul B. Manning sold 328,268 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.78, for a total transaction of $9,447,553.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 430,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,399,229.84. The trade was a 43.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 849,141 shares of company stock worth $23,584,920 over the last 90 days. 30.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liquidia

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LQDA. Tyro Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Liquidia during the 2nd quarter valued at $15,473,000. CenterBook Partners LP raised its stake in Liquidia by 811.7% during the 2nd quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 1,103,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,754,000 after buying an additional 982,778 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in Liquidia by 446.7% during the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 461,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,803,000 after buying an additional 376,872 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new stake in Liquidia during the 3rd quarter valued at $7,290,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Liquidia by 157.2% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 482,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,016,000 after buying an additional 295,104 shares during the last quarter. 64.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Liquidia Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of -14.84 and a beta of 0.12. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.84. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.52.

Liquidia Company 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).