Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Stock Price Up 3.3% After Analyst Upgrade

Liquidia Co. (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) shares shot up 3.3% during trading on Thursday after Scotiabank raised their price target on the stock from $30.00 to $34.00. Scotiabank currently has a sector outperform rating on the stock. Liquidia traded as high as $15.45 and last traded at $15.42. 549,711 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 928,447 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.92.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Liquidia in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Liquidia from $19.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. One research 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $26.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction of $275,298.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 401,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,732,673.90. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Rajeev Saggar sold 6,249 shares of the firm'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 $73,613.22. Following the sale, the insider now owns 270,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,185,170.64. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 71,245 shares of company stock valued at $843,326. 30.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liquidia

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Liquidia during the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Liquidia by 35.0% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,632 shares of the company's stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 1,719 shares in the last quarter. Walleye Trading LLC boosted its stake in shares of Liquidia by 54.7% in the third quarter. Walleye Trading LLC now owns 13,201 shares of the company's stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 4,670 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Liquidia in the fourth quarter worth about $142,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Liquidia during the fourth quarter worth about $154,000. 64.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Liquidia Trading Up 2.2 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $14.79 and a 200-day moving average of $12.23. The company has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.47 and a beta of 0.07.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported ($0.46) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.38) by ($0.08). Liquidia had a negative net margin of 765.38% and a negative return on equity of 163.21%. The company had revenue of $2.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.60 million. Equities analysts predict that Liquidia Co. will post -1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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).