Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Stock Price Expected to Rise, BTIG Research Analyst Says

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) had its target price boosted by investment analysts at BTIG Research from $70.00 to $87.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. BTIG Research‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 73.81% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $65.00 price target on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Liquidia from $79.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings raised Liquidia from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Lifesci Capital upgraded Liquidia from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.15.

Liquidia Stock Performance

Shares of LQDA stock traded up $2.18 on Tuesday, reaching $50.05. The stock had a trading volume of 1,220,963 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,284,189. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 2.31. Liquidia has a 1 year low of $22.31 and a 1 year high of $93.61. The stock has a market cap of $4.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.47.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 10th. The company reported ($2.64) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.96 by ($3.60). The business had revenue of $225.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $214.18 million. Liquidia had a return on equity of 149.65% and a net margin of 30.74%. The firm’s revenue was up 314.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.04) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Liquidia will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Liquidia news, CAO Dana Boyle sold 1,581 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.19, for a total transaction of $68,283.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 164,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,084,369.32. This represents a 0.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 company’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $3,598,960.64. The trade was a 6.80% 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 90 days, insiders have sold 566,579 shares of company stock worth $25,746,120. 25.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Liquidia

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LQDA. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Liquidia by 26.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 1,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Globeflex Capital L P purchased a new stake in shares of Liquidia during the second quarter worth $175,000. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in Liquidia during the second quarter worth about $177,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Liquidia by 839.1% in the third quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 2,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Liquidia by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.54% of the company’s stock.

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.