Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Shares of Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $42.46 and last traded at $41.32, with a volume of 762979 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $39.99.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LQDA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Liquidia from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Zacks Research raised shares of Liquidia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of Liquidia from $35.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Liquidia from $36.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.67.

Liquidia Stock Up 1.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.19, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.20. The company has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of -28.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.61.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Russell Schundler sold 27,289 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total value of $1,021,427.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 579,394 shares in the company, valued at $21,686,717.42. This trade represents a 4.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Kaseta sold 36,932 shares of Liquidia stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total value of $1,382,364.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 350,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,134,898.17. This trade represents a 9.52% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 323,354 shares of company stock worth $11,046,731. 26.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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).