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

Liquidia Co. (NASDAQ:LQDA) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $14.74, but opened at $14.38. Liquidia shares last traded at $14.50, with a volume of 53,504 shares traded.

The company reported ($0.46) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.38) by ($0.08). Liquidia had a negative return on equity of 163.21% and a negative net margin of 765.38%. The business had revenue of $2.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.60 million.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on LQDA shares. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Liquidia in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Liquidia in a report on Thursday. Scotiabank raised their price target on Liquidia from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Liquidia from $19.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Liquidia has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.63.

Insider Transactions at Liquidia

In other Liquidia news, General Counsel Russell Schundler sold 16,393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.78, for a total transaction of $193,109.54. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 573,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,755,570.84. The trade was a 2.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Michael Kaseta sold 23,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.78, for a total value of $275,298.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 401,755 shares in the company, valued at $4,732,673.90. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 71,245 shares of company stock valued at $843,326. 30.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liquidia

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LQDA. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Liquidia by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 51,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $611,000 after buying an additional 7,725 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank purchased a new position in shares of Liquidia during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $235,000. Alpine Global Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Liquidia by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC now owns 150,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,764,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Liquidia by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 105,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,243,000 after purchasing an additional 22,445 shares during the period. Finally, Whitefort Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Liquidia by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Whitefort Capital Management LP now owns 1,987,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,370,000 after purchasing an additional 285,220 shares during the period. 64.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Liquidia Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of -9.47 and a beta of 0.07. The business has a fifty day moving average of $14.73 and a 200-day moving average of $12.14.

Liquidia Company Profile

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).