Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA) Short Interest Update

Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA) saw a significant decrease in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 10,709,682 shares, a decrease of 18.1% from the December 15th total of 13,078,126 shares. Approximately 17.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 924,707 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 11.6 days. Based on an average trading volume of 924,707 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 11.6 days. Approximately 17.6% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Liquidia Stock Performance

Shares of LQDA traded down $0.86 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $37.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,325,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,732,608. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.19. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.14. Liquidia has a 1-year low of $11.26 and a 1-year high of $41.57. The stock has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.34, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.48.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.45) by $0.41. The company had revenue of $54.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.86 million. Liquidia had a negative net margin of 176.04% and a negative return on equity of 296.78%. The firm’s revenue was up 1106.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Liquidia will post -1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Liquidia

In other Liquidia news, CFO Michael Kaseta sold 36,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $13,134,898.17. This trade represents a 9.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Scott Moomaw sold 20,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total transaction of $768,550.19. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 154,514 shares in the company, valued at $5,783,459.02. This represents a 11.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 323,354 shares of company stock valued at $11,046,731 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 26.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liquidia

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LQDA. Whitcomb & Hess Inc. grew its position in shares of Liquidia by 2.0% in the third quarter. Whitcomb & Hess Inc. now owns 28,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $645,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Liquidia by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 67,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,525,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in Liquidia by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 12,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 1,119 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Liquidia by 24.0% in the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new position in Liquidia during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. 64.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LQDA shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Liquidia from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Zacks Research upgraded Liquidia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Liquidia from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of Liquidia from $35.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Liquidia from $36.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Liquidia currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.67.

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).