Wall Street Zen Upgrades Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) to Strong-Buy

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. BTIG Research lifted their target price on Liquidia from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research upgraded Liquidia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Liquidia from $54.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Liquidia from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Liquidia in a report on Monday, May 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.33.

Liquidia Stock Performance

LQDA stock opened at $56.93 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $39.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.04. 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 firm has a market cap of $5.06 billion, a PE ratio of 406.67 and a beta of 0.41. Liquidia has a 1-year low of $11.85 and a 1-year high of $59.75.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $132.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $119.44 million. Liquidia had a return on equity of 46.82% and a net margin of 7.74%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4187.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Liquidia will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Liquidia

In other news, insider Jason Adair sold 688 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.65, for a total value of $28,655.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 214,738 shares in the company, valued at $8,943,837.70. The trade was a 0.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CAO Dana Boyle sold 1,576 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.78, for a total value of $59,541.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 175,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,624,420.76. This trade represents a 0.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,022,713 shares of company stock valued at $44,689,753. 25.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Liquidia

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Liquidia by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 8,656,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $298,547,000 after acquiring an additional 90,400 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Liquidia by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,013,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,439,000 after acquiring an additional 52,671 shares during the last quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Liquidia by 9.5% in the second quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. now owns 2,475,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,838,000 after acquiring an additional 215,000 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC increased its position in shares of Liquidia by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 1,783,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,527,000 after acquiring an additional 151,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TCG Crossover Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Liquidia in the third quarter valued at about $38,887,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.54% of the company’s stock.

More Liquidia News

Here are the key news stories impacting Liquidia this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Liquidia’s first-quarter results beat Wall Street expectations on both earnings and revenue, reinforcing confidence that YUTREPIA is gaining commercial traction and that profitability is improving. Results: Liquidia Corporation Beat Earnings Expectations And Analysts Now Have New Forecasts
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts raised estimates and price targets after the earnings report, including HC Wainwright boosting near-term EPS forecasts and keeping a Buy rating with a $67 target, which supports the bullish outlook on LQDA. Liquidia (LQDA) price target increased by 22.37% to 63.24
• Positive Sentiment: Valuation-focused commentary highlighted that YUTREPIA-driven profitability and strong first-quarter performance could justify Liquidia’s recent share price strength if launch momentum continues. A Look At Liquidia (LQDA) Valuation After YUTREPIA Fueled Profitability And Strong First Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks noted improving earnings estimate revisions, suggesting analysts see additional upside potential for Liquidia in the near term. Earnings Estimates Moving Higher for Liquidia Corporation (LQDA): Time to Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: Director Stephen Bloch sold 318,893 shares, a notable insider transaction, but it does not necessarily signal a change in the company’s operating outlook. Stephen Bloch Sells 318,893 Shares of Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: One analyst lowered a longer-dated EPS estimate, showing there is still some disagreement on how quickly growth can scale over time. Liquidia stock and analyst reports

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).