Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Shares of Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ:LQDA) saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday. Approximately 5,412,789 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 217% from the previous session’s volume of 1,707,124 shares. The stock last traded at $39.0890 and had previously closed at $70.69.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LQDA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $106.00 target price on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Stephens set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Liquidia in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Liquidia from $62.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Lifesci Capital downgraded shares of Liquidia from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Liquidia from $109.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.08.

Liquidia Stock Down 48.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.85 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $75.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.37.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $171.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.48 million. Liquidia had a net margin of 30.74% and a return on equity of 149.65%. Liquidia’s quarterly revenue was up 1842.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.49) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Liquidia Corporation will post 2.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jason Adair sold 73,631 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.09, for a total value of $5,087,165.79. Following the sale, the insider owned 174,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,063,528.54. The trade was a 29.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Roger Jeffs sold 35,249 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.51, for a total transaction of $2,520,655.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,130,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,836,763.26. The trade was a 3.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 597,519 shares of company stock worth $46,091,764. 25.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liquidia

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Globeflex Capital L P bought a new stake in shares of Liquidia in the 2nd quarter worth about $175,000. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in Liquidia during the second quarter worth approximately $177,000. Hurley Capital LLC increased its stake in Liquidia by 140.7% during the fourth quarter. Hurley Capital LLC now owns 5,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,000 after acquiring an additional 3,040 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Liquidia by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the period. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Liquidia during the first quarter valued at approximately $247,000. 64.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Liquidia

Liquidia Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for patients with serious cardiopulmonary diseases and other rare conditions. The company uses its proprietary PRINT technology to engineer drug particles with controlled size, shape and composition, with the goal of improving the delivery and performance of medicines.

Liquidia’s lead product is Yutrepia (treprostinil) inhalation powder, a dry-powder inhaler designed for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).