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

Liquidia Co. (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 $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 analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.39) by ($0.07). Liquidia had a negative return on equity of 163.21% and a negative net margin of 765.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. One investment 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $25.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Rajeev Saggar sold 2,445 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.00, for a total transaction of $31,785.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 267,943 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,259. The trade was a 0.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Russell Schundler sold 16,393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.78, for a total transaction of $193,109.54. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 573,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,755,570.84. This trade represents a 2.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 71,245 shares of company stock valued at $843,326. 30.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LQDA. LM Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Liquidia during the 4th quarter valued at $25,948,000. Whitefort Capital Management LP grew its position in Liquidia by 119.8% in the third quarter. Whitefort Capital Management LP now owns 1,702,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,020,000 after acquiring an additional 927,546 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Liquidia by 2,675.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 700,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,234,000 after acquiring an additional 674,940 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Liquidia by 1,484.5% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 535,552 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,293,000 after acquiring an additional 501,752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirabella Financial Services LLP bought a new stake in Liquidia in the fourth quarter worth $5,880,000. 64.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Liquidia Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.96 and a beta of 0.07. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.10.

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).