Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $88.05, but opened at $83.64. Liquidia shares last traded at $83.29, with a volume of 754,975 shares traded.

The company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.02). Liquidia had a net margin of 7.74% and a return on equity of 46.82%. The business had revenue of $171.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.48 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.49) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1842.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LQDA has been the subject of a number of research reports. HC Wainwright set a $36.00 price target on shares of Liquidia in a report on Friday, July 24th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 price objective (up from $64.00) on shares of Liquidia in a report on Monday, June 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Liquidia from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Stephens set a $130.00 target price on Liquidia in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their target price on Liquidia from $59.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Paul B. Manning sold 200,000 shares of Liquidia stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.91, for a total value of $12,782,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 716,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,779,436.01. This trade represents a 21.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen M. Bloch sold 242,269 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.43, for a total value of $17,063,005.67. Following the sale, the director owned 1,176,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,838,639.12. The trade was a 17.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 1,781,861 shares of company stock worth $124,407,112 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 25.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LQDA. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Liquidia during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new position in Liquidia in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Liquidia by 41.9% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Liquidia by 281.2% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,679 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 4,927 shares during the period. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Liquidia by 140.7% during the 4th quarter. Hurley Capital LLC now owns 5,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 3,040 shares during the last quarter. 64.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Liquidia Stock Down 4.2%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $77.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.22. The company has a market cap of $7.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 599.77 and a beta of 0.58.

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).