Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Given “Buy” Rating at BTIG Research

BTIG Research reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $49.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on LQDA. HC Wainwright increased their price target on Liquidia from $35.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Liquidia from $36.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Liquidia in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Liquidia from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Monday, October 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. One equities research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.56.

Liquidia Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LQDA opened at $34.41 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $29.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.74. Liquidia has a 52-week low of $11.26 and a 52-week high of $36.41. The company has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a PE ratio of -23.90 and a beta of 0.48. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.45) by $0.41. Liquidia had a negative net margin of 176.04% and a negative return on equity of 296.78%. The company had revenue of $54.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.86 million. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1106.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Liquidia will post -1.51 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Liquidia

In other news, CFO Michael Kaseta sold 11,630 shares of Liquidia stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.41, for a total transaction of $272,258.30. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 352,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,255,442.86. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Russell Schundler sold 7,839 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.41, for a total value of $183,510.99. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 576,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,484,557.97. This trade represents a 1.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 169,644 shares of company stock valued at $4,500,450. Company insiders own 26.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Liquidia

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Liquidia during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new stake in Liquidia during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Liquidia during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Liquidia by 24.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Liquidia in the first quarter valued at about $79,000. 64.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Liquidia Company Profile

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).