Liquidia’s (LQDA) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reiterated their buy rating on shares of Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $25.00 price objective on the stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Monday. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Liquidia from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Liquidia presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $27.13.

Liquidia Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LQDA opened at $18.65 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.44 and a beta of 0.24. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.27. Liquidia has a one year low of $8.26 and a one year high of $18.89.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.45) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.12 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 million. Liquidia had a negative net margin of 765.38% and a negative return on equity of 163.21%. As a group, analysts expect that Liquidia will post -1.51 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jason Adair sold 1,856 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.57, for a total transaction of $25,185.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 184,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,501,005.28. This trade represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Russell Schundler sold 5,964 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.57, for a total transaction of $80,931.48. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 570,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,738,984.57. This trade represents a 1.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,138 shares of company stock valued at $450,233 over the last quarter. Insiders own 30.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Liquidia

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Liquidia during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Liquidia by 65.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,173 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Liquidia in the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Liquidia by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,719 shares during the period. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Liquidia in the 4th quarter valued at $142,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.54% of the company’s stock.

About Liquidia

Liquidia Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company, develops, manufactures, and commercializes various products for unmet patient needs in the United States. Its lead product candidates include YUTREPIA, an inhaled dry powder formulation of treprostinil for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease (PH-ILD).