Insider Selling: Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Insider Sells 13,548 Shares of Stock

Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA) insider Jason Adair sold 13,548 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 $507,101.64. Following the sale, the insider owned 184,174 shares in the company, valued at $6,893,632.82. The trade was a 6.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Jason Adair also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, December 1st, Jason Adair sold 693 shares of Liquidia stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.19, for a total transaction of $22,307.67.
• On Tuesday, November 18th, Jason Adair sold 35,656 shares of Liquidia stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.03, for a total value of $1,070,749.68.
• On Monday, October 27th, Jason Adair sold 692 shares of Liquidia stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.93, for a total value of $15,867.56.

Liquidia Price Performance

NASDAQ:LQDA traded up $1.49 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $38.09. 2,055,159 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,814,845. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $31.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.40. Liquidia Corporation has a 1-year low of $11.26 and a 1-year high of $39.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of -26.45, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Key Liquidia News

Here are the key news stories impacting Liquidia this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Short interest fell materially in December — short interest declined 18.1% to 10,709,682 shares as of Dec. 31 (about 17.6% of shares were sold short) and the days-to-cover was ~11.6. Fewer active shorts can reduce downside pressure and may have contributed to the stock moving higher. (Market data entry)
• Neutral Sentiment: January short-interest data shows 0 shares as of Jan. 12 — this is almost certainly a reporting or data glitch rather than a real liquidation of all short positions. Investors should monitor the next short-interest report for a corrected figure. (Market data entry)
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Roger Jeffs sold 66,610 shares at an average $37.43 (≈$2.49M); his stake decreased ~6.03%. This large insider sale may be seen as a negative signal by some investors. SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: CFO Michael Kaseta sold 36,932 shares at $37.43 (≈$1.38M); his holding fell ~9.52%. SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: General Counsel Russell Schundler sold 27,289 shares at $37.43 (≈$1.02M); his holding fell ~4.50%. SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Other insiders (including Rajeev Saggar, Jason Adair, Scott Moomaw, Sarah Krepp, CAO Dana Boyle) also executed sales on Jan. 12 at ~$37.43 per share, each reducing positions between ~6–11.7%. These combined sales represent significant insider liquidity taken at current prices. Rajeev Saggar SEC Filing Dana Boyle SEC Filing Jason Adair SEC Filing Scott Moomaw SEC Filing Sarah Krepp SEC Filing

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LQDA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Monday, October 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $49.00 target price on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Liquidia from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Liquidia in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Liquidia from $35.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Liquidia presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LQDA. Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Liquidia by 102.1% during the 3rd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 8,565,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,783,000 after purchasing an additional 4,326,876 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Liquidia by 10.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,961,217 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,078,000 after buying an additional 367,659 shares during the last quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. raised its position in Liquidia by 9.5% during the second quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. now owns 2,475,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,838,000 after acquiring an additional 215,000 shares in the last quarter. TCG Crossover Management LLC acquired a new stake in Liquidia in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,887,000. Finally, Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in Liquidia in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,114,000. 64.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).