Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

LQDA has been the topic of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Monday, October 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Liquidia in a report on Friday. HC Wainwright increased their price target on Liquidia from $35.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Needham & Company LLC lifted 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Liquidia in a report on Monday, November 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.56.

Liquidia Stock Up 12.9%

Shares of LQDA opened at $35.86 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.19. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $31.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.07. The stock has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.48. Liquidia has a 12 month low of $11.26 and a 12 month high of $38.16.

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

Insider Transactions at Liquidia

In related news, CFO Michael Kaseta sold 11,630 shares of Liquidia stock in a transaction on Monday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.41, for a total transaction of $272,258.30. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Rajeev Saggar sold 71,381 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 176,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,766,823. This represents a 28.79% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 169,644 shares of company stock valued at $4,500,450. 26.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liquidia

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Liquidia in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new stake in Liquidia in the third quarter worth $30,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Liquidia in the third quarter worth $34,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Liquidia by 24.0% during the second quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of Liquidia by 281.2% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,679 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 4,927 shares during the period. 64.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).