Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $43.42 and last traded at $42.47, with a volume of 1423668 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.21.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $47.00 target price on shares of Liquidia in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $49.00 price objective on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Liquidia from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Zacks Research raised Liquidia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Liquidia in a report on Monday, October 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Two investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.67.

Liquidia Stock Performance

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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a PE ratio of -29.90, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $35.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.70.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Russell Schundler sold 27,289 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the general counsel owned 579,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,686,717.42. This represents a 4.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,037,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,834,673.04. This trade represents a 6.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 323,857 shares of company stock worth $11,100,722 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 26.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liquidia

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LQDA. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Liquidia in the second quarter worth about $1,485,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new position in shares of Liquidia in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,026,000. Tyro Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Liquidia in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $15,473,000. Diametric Capital LP lifted its holdings in Liquidia by 72.5% in the 2nd quarter. Diametric Capital LP now owns 148,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,852,000 after purchasing an additional 62,443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Liquidia during the second quarter worth approximately $775,000. 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).