Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Thursday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on LQDA. BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Liquidia from $70.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 10th. Stephens set a $130.00 price target on shares of Liquidia in a report on Friday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial raised Liquidia from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America set a $54.00 price target on Liquidia and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wedbush set a $58.00 price objective on Liquidia in a report on Friday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Liquidia has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.23.

Liquidia Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of LQDA stock traded down $0.71 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $57.41. 1,932,184 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,107,374. The stock has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -46.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $48.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.75. Liquidia has a 52-week low of $22.31 and a 52-week high of $93.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 2.12.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 10th. The company reported ($2.64) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by ($3.60). Liquidia had a negative net margin of 15.15% and a positive return on equity of 264.65%. The firm had revenue of $225.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $214.18 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.04) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 314.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Liquidia will post 0.74 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stephen Bloch sold 235,477 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.13, for a total value of $6,388,491.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Adair sold 73,631 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.09, for a total transaction of $5,087,165.79. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 174,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,063,528.54. This represents a 29.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 566,579 shares of company stock valued at $25,746,120. 25.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liquidia

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LQDA. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Liquidia during the second quarter worth about $29,694,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Liquidia by 18.7% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,287,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,341,000 after acquiring an additional 360,372 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in Liquidia by 90.0% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 458,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,881,000 after acquiring an additional 217,332 shares during the period. Eversept Partners LP lifted its holdings in Liquidia by 33.0% in the first quarter. Eversept Partners LP now owns 677,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,565,000 after acquiring an additional 167,949 shares during the period. Finally, Seven Fleet Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Liquidia by 124.5% in the first quarter. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP now owns 204,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,732,000 after acquiring an additional 113,609 shares during the period. 64.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Liquidia Company Profile

Liquidia Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing treatments for pulmonary hypertension and other serious diseases. Its work includes inhaled therapies designed to deliver medicines to the lungs. The company’s marketed product, Yutrepia (treprostinil) inhalation powder, is approved in the United States for adults with pulmonary arterial hypertension and pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease. Liquidia also has a pipeline of investigational therapies, including other formulations of treprostinil.