Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $50.8750.

LQDA has been the topic of a number of research reports. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on Liquidia from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Liquidia from $54.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Liquidia in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Zacks Research upgraded Liquidia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their target price on Liquidia from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th.

Liquidia Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Liquidia stock opened at $61.79 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Liquidia has a 12 month low of $11.85 and a 12 month high of $63.46. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.47. The stock has a market cap of $5.49 billion, a PE ratio of 441.35 and a beta of 0.41.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $132.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $119.44 million. Liquidia had a return on equity of 46.82% and a net margin of 7.74%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4187.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Liquidia will post 2.97 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Roger Jeffs sold 6,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.18, for a total transaction of $399,693.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,041,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,770,854.06. This represents a 0.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Stephen M. Bloch sold 318,893 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.23, for a total value of $16,017,995.39. Following the sale, the director owned 1,870,042 shares in the company, valued at $93,932,209.66. The trade was a 14.57% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,133,635 shares of company stock worth $51,366,920. Insiders own 25.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liquidia

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LQDA. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in Liquidia during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Liquidia during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new position in Liquidia during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Liquidia during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in Liquidia by 41.9% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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).