Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA) saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday . 3,521,895 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 69% from the previous session’s volume of 2,088,723 shares.The stock last traded at $34.4330 and had previously closed at $38.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LQDA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $47.00 target price on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut Liquidia from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 18th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Liquidia from $36.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Liquidia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.67.

Liquidia Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $37.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.95. 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 company has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.46.

Insider Transactions at Liquidia

In other Liquidia news, insider Scott Moomaw sold 20,533 shares of the business’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 $768,550.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 154,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,783,459.02. The trade was a 11.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Roger Jeffs sold 66,610 shares of Liquidia 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 $2,493,212.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,037,528 shares in the company, valued at $38,834,673.04. This trade represents a 6.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 216,820 shares of company stock valued at $8,102,685. Company insiders own 30.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Liquidia during the third quarter valued at about $7,290,000. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Liquidia in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,114,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new position in Liquidia in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,026,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Liquidia during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,485,000. Finally, Tyro Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Liquidia during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $15,473,000. 64.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).