Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.11 EPS

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.11, Briefing.com reports. Liquidia had a return on equity of 46.82% and a net margin of 7.74%.The business had revenue of $132.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $119.44 million. Liquidia’s revenue was up 4187.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Here are the key takeaways from Liquidia’s conference call:

• YUTREPIA adoption is accelerating — management reports ~4,500 unique prescriptions, ~3,750 patients started since launch and Q1 net product sales of $129.9M, claiming the company drove all market growth in the quarter and a >$500M annualized run rate in under one year.
• Profitable, cash-generating commercial model — Liquidia recorded its third consecutive profitable quarter (Q1 net income ~$52.9M, adjusted EBITDA ~$71.2M) and ended the quarter with $222.8M in cash, enabling reinvestment into sales, manufacturing and clinical programs from operating cash flow.
• Pipeline and clinical expansion underway — the company is recruiting ASCENT cohort B to support switching evidence, advancing the pivotal INSPIRE Phase III for L606 (twice-daily treprostinil), and exploring additional indications (IPF, PPF, PH-COPD, scleroderma-associated Raynaud’s) to materially expand franchise value.
• Ongoing litigation and legal uncertainty — management acknowledged parallels between the company’s patent litigation and the recent Hikma v. Amarin arguments; while confident, timing and outcomes remain uncertain and could materially affect competitive dynamics if unfavorable.

Liquidia Stock Performance

Shares of LQDA opened at $68.65 on Thursday. Liquidia has a 12-month low of $11.85 and a 12-month high of $73.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a market cap of $6.11 billion, a PE ratio of 490.39 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $51.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.76.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on LQDA shares. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Liquidia from $54.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target 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. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Liquidia from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $68.00 target price on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Liquidia in a report on Monday, May 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Liquidia has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Liquidia news, CFO Michael Kaseta sold 139,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.14, for a total value of $5,595,114.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 353,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,183,709.84. The trade was a 28.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Paul B. Manning sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.91, for a total transaction of $12,782,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 716,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,779,436.01. This represents a 21.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,282,894 shares of company stock worth $128,344,713. Insiders own 25.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liquidia

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Liquidia during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in Liquidia in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Liquidia by 281.2% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,679 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 4,927 shares in the last quarter. One68 Global Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Liquidia in the third quarter worth approximately $227,000. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc bought a new position in Liquidia during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $235,000. 64.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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).