Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Upgraded to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Zacks reports.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on LQDA. HC Wainwright initiated coverage on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. Bank of America set a $54.00 price target on Liquidia and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wedbush set a $58.00 price target on Liquidia in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Liquidia from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Liquidia in a report on Thursday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.23.

Liquidia Stock Down 1.2%

LQDA traded down $0.71 during trading on Thursday, reaching $57.41. The company had a trading volume of 1,932,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,107,374. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 2.12. Liquidia has a 12 month low of $22.31 and a 12 month high of $93.61. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $48.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.75. The company has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -46.67, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.40.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 10th. The company reported ($2.64) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.96 by ($3.60). Liquidia had a positive return on equity of 264.65% and a negative net margin of 15.15%. The company had revenue of $225.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $214.18 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.04) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 314.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Liquidia will post 0.74 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Liquidia

In other Liquidia news, General Counsel Russell Schundler sold 13,692 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.48, for a total transaction of $389,948.16. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 602,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,168,911.68. The trade was a 2.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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, insider Rajeev Saggar sold 9,218 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.48, for a total value of $262,528.64. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 126,368 shares in the company, valued at $3,598,960.64. This trade represents a 6.80% decrease in their position. 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 sold 566,579 shares of company stock worth $25,746,120. 25.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liquidia

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Liquidia by 18.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,287,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,341,000 after acquiring an additional 360,372 shares during the period. Eversept Partners LP lifted its stake in Liquidia by 33.0% in the 1st quarter. Eversept Partners LP now owns 677,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,565,000 after purchasing an additional 167,949 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in Liquidia by 90.0% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 458,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,881,000 after purchasing an additional 217,332 shares during the last quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE grew its holdings in Liquidia by 2.4% during the first quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE now owns 388,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,657,000 after purchasing an additional 8,985 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Liquidia during the second quarter worth about $29,694,000. 64.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Liquidia Company Profile

Liquidia Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing treatments for pulmonary hypertension and other serious diseases. Its work includes inhaled therapies designed to deliver medicines to the lungs. The company’s marketed product, Yutrepia (treprostinil) inhalation powder, is approved in the United States for adults with pulmonary arterial hypertension and pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease. Liquidia also has a pipeline of investigational therapies, including other formulations of treprostinil.