Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.14 EPS

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.14, Briefing.com reports. Liquidia had a negative return on equity of 209.33% and a negative net margin of 43.53%.The firm’s revenue was up 3072.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Liquidia Trading Up 3.2%

LQDA opened at $36.86 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. Liquidia has a 52 week low of $11.26 and a 52 week high of $46.67. The stock has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a PE ratio of -44.41 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50 day moving average of $37.65 and a 200-day moving average of $31.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Russell Schundler sold 27,289 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 $1,021,427.27. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 579,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,686,717.42. The trade was a 4.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Rajeev Saggar sold 21,142 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total transaction of $791,345.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 176,883 shares in the company, valued at $6,620,730.69. This represents a 10.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 212,534 shares of company stock valued at $7,964,719 over the last 90 days. 30.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liquidia

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Liquidia during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $442,000. Jain Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of Liquidia in the 4th quarter worth approximately $392,000. Oxford Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Liquidia in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $373,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Liquidia by 75.7% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $352,000 after buying an additional 6,670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Birchview Capital LP bought a new position in Liquidia during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $345,000. Institutional investors own 64.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Liquidia from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Liquidia from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Liquidia from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Lifesci Capital raised shares of Liquidia to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.67.

About Liquidia

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).