Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Stock Rating Cut to Hold at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Thursday,Zacks reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. BTIG Research downgraded Liquidia from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Zacks Research cut Liquidia from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $130.00 price target on Liquidia in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Stephens set a $130.00 price objective on Liquidia in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Liquidia currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.69.

Liquidia Stock Up 2.3%

NASDAQ:LQDA opened at $28.64 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Liquidia has a twelve month low of $21.91 and a twelve month high of $93.61. The company has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a PE ratio of 20.91 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50 day moving average is $71.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.02.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.02). Liquidia had a return on equity of 149.65% and a net margin of 30.74%.The company had revenue of $171.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.48 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.49) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1842.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Liquidia will post 2.57 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Liquidia

In other Liquidia news, Director Katherine Rielly-Gauvin sold 36,789 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.99, for a total transaction of $2,758,807.11. Following the sale, the director directly owned 44,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,347,328.63. This trade represents a 45.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Roger Jeffs sold 35,249 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.51, for a total value of $2,520,655.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,130,426 shares in the company, valued at $80,836,763.26. This represents a 3.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 597,519 shares of company stock valued at $46,091,764 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 25.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liquidia

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Liquidia by 63.3% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 58,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,199,000 after purchasing an additional 22,592 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Liquidia during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,694,000. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Liquidia by 25.2% in the 2nd quarter. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP now owns 256,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,459,000 after purchasing an additional 51,727 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Liquidia by 18.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,287,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,341,000 after purchasing an additional 360,372 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB purchased a new stake in Liquidia during the second quarter worth $1,993,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.54% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Liquidia

Here are the key news stories impacting Liquidia this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Liquidia’s legal options are not exhausted: an appeal could potentially overturn or narrow the ruling, giving investors a possible path to recovery if Yutrepia’s market opportunity is preserved. Liquidia Stock Crashed 57% in a Day After a Delaware Court Ruling
• Positive Sentiment: Despite the litigation setback, Jefferies upgraded LQDA to “strong buy,” while HC Wainwright maintained a “buy” rating and set a $58 price target. These calls indicate that some analysts believe the selloff has overstated the long-term damage or that an appeal could succeed.
• Neutral Sentiment: HC Wainwright cut its target from $130 to $58, and Needham reduced its target from $110 to $72, although both retained “buy” ratings. The sharply lower targets reflect materially higher legal and commercialization risk even among bullish analysts.
• Negative Sentiment: BTIG downgraded Liquidia to “neutral,” and Wells Fargo added to the analyst downgrades following the patent ruling. Analysts cited uncertainty over Yutrepia’s PH-ILD indication and the possibility that UTHR’s patent victory could limit Liquidia’s addressable market. Liquidia extends losses as Wells Fargo adds to downgrades
• Negative Sentiment: The court setback triggered a severe selloff, leaving LQDA on track for its worst week on record as investors reassessed Yutrepia’s revenue potential and Liquidia’s competitive position. The stock’s unusually heavy trading volume underscores the market’s heightened uncertainty. LQDA Stock On Track For Worst Week Ever

About Liquidia

Liquidia Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for patients with serious cardiopulmonary diseases and other rare conditions. The company uses its proprietary PRINT technology to engineer drug particles with controlled size, shape and composition, with the goal of improving the delivery and performance of medicines.

Liquidia’s lead product is Yutrepia (treprostinil) inhalation powder, a dry-powder inhaler designed for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).