Investors Purchase High Volume of Liquidia Call Options (NASDAQ:LQDA)

Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders bought 17,837 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 72% compared to the typical daily volume of 10,370 call options.

Liquidia Stock Up 9.2%

NASDAQ LQDA traded up $6.02 during trading on Thursday, reaching $71.27. 2,205,132 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,727,988. Liquidia has a 1 year low of $11.85 and a 1 year high of $72.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.22. The stock has a market cap of $6.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 510.12 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $48.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.37.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $132.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $119.44 million. Liquidia had a return on equity of 46.82% and a net margin of 7.74%.Liquidia’s revenue was up 4187.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Liquidia will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LQDA shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Liquidia from $51.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Liquidia from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Liquidia from $54.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Oppenheimer set a $75.00 price target on Liquidia in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $68.00 price target on shares of Liquidia in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Liquidia has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Liquidia

In related news, Director Stephen M. Bloch sold 72,534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.38, for a total transaction of $4,669,738.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,564,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,716,522.66. This represents a 4.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul B. Manning sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 $45,779,436.01. This trade represents a 21.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 1,673,680 shares of company stock valued at $85,949,087 over the last three months. 25.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Liquidia during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Liquidia in the second quarter worth $25,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new position in Liquidia during the third quarter worth $30,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Liquidia during the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in Liquidia by 41.9% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.54% of the company’s stock.

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).