Key Points
- Liquidia director Stephen Bloch sold 72,534 shares on June 9 for about $4.67 million at an average price of $64.38, cutting his position by 4.43%. He still owns more than 1.56 million shares.
- The stock has surged sharply, recently trading near its 52-week high of $66.78 and well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Liquidia now has a market cap of about $5.8 billion.
- Recent fundamentals and analyst sentiment remain strong, with the company reporting Q1 EPS of $0.52 and revenue of $132.87 million, both above expectations. Analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy with an average target price of $60.29.
Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) insider Sanjeev Khindri sold 4,134 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.46, for a total transaction of $270,611.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 67,132 shares in the company, valued at $4,394,460.72. This represents a 5.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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.
Liquidia Stock Performance
NASDAQ LQDA opened at $65.25 on Thursday. Liquidia Corporation has a 1 year low of $11.85 and a 1 year high of $66.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 2.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.80 billion, a PE ratio of 466.10 and a beta of 0.58. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $48.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.37.
Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.11. Liquidia had a net margin of 7.74% and a return on equity of 46.82%. The business had revenue of $132.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $119.44 million. Liquidia's quarterly revenue was up 4187.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Liquidia Corporation will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of Liquidia from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Liquidia from $54.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Liquidia from $51.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.29.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Liquidia
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liquidia
A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP raised its position in Liquidia by 124.5% in the 1st quarter. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP now owns 204,876 shares of the company's stock worth $7,732,000 after purchasing an additional 113,609 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in Liquidia in the 1st quarter worth $2,111,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Liquidia by 18.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,287,792 shares of the company's stock worth $86,341,000 after purchasing an additional 360,372 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Liquidia by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 72,438 shares of the company's stock worth $2,734,000 after purchasing an additional 14,485 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Liquidia in the 1st quarter worth $3,650,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.54% of the company's stock.
Liquidia Company Profile
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Get Free Report)
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).
Further Reading
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