Michael Kaseta Sells 36,932 Shares of Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Stock

Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA) CFO Michael Kaseta sold 36,932 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total transaction of $1,382,364.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 350,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,134,898.17. This trade represents a 9.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Michael Kaseta also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, December 1st, Michael Kaseta sold 1,166 shares of Liquidia stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.19, for a total transaction of $37,533.54.

Liquidia Trading Up 4.1%

LQDA traded up $1.49 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $38.09. 2,055,159 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,814,845. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $31.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of -26.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.48. Liquidia Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $11.26 and a fifty-two week high of $39.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.19, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.20.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 296.78% and a negative net margin of 176.04%.The company had revenue of $54.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.86 million. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1106.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Liquidia Corporation will post -1.51 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on LQDA shares. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $49.00 price target on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Liquidia in a report on Monday, October 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $47.00 target price on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of Liquidia from $35.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.67.

Liquidia News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Liquidia this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Short interest fell materially in December — short interest declined 18.1% to 10,709,682 shares as of Dec. 31 (about 17.6% of shares were sold short) and the days-to-cover was ~11.6. Fewer active shorts can reduce downside pressure and may have contributed to the stock moving higher. (Market data entry)
• Neutral Sentiment: January short-interest data shows 0 shares as of Jan. 12 — this is almost certainly a reporting or data glitch rather than a real liquidation of all short positions. Investors should monitor the next short-interest report for a corrected figure. (Market data entry)
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Roger Jeffs sold 66,610 shares at an average $37.43 (≈$2.49M); his stake decreased ~6.03%. This large insider sale may be seen as a negative signal by some investors. SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: CFO Michael Kaseta sold 36,932 shares at $37.43 (≈$1.38M); his holding fell ~9.52%. SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: General Counsel Russell Schundler sold 27,289 shares at $37.43 (≈$1.02M); his holding fell ~4.50%. SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Other insiders (including Rajeev Saggar, Jason Adair, Scott Moomaw, Sarah Krepp, CAO Dana Boyle) also executed sales on Jan. 12 at ~$37.43 per share, each reducing positions between ~6–11.7%. These combined sales represent significant insider liquidity taken at current prices. Rajeev Saggar SEC Filing Dana Boyle SEC Filing Jason Adair SEC Filing Scott Moomaw SEC Filing Sarah Krepp SEC Filing

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Liquidia by 102.1% in the third quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 8,565,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,783,000 after buying an additional 4,326,876 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 367,659 shares during the period. Opaleye Management Inc. lifted its position in Liquidia by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. now owns 2,475,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,838,000 after acquiring an additional 215,000 shares in the last quarter. TCG Crossover Management LLC acquired a new position in Liquidia in the 3rd quarter worth $38,887,000. Finally, Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in Liquidia in the 3rd quarter worth $37,114,000. Institutional investors own 64.54% of the company’s stock.

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).