Oppenheimer Downgrades Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) to Underperform

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) was downgraded by investment analysts at Oppenheimer from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report issued on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $13.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer’s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 23.62% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Liquidia from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Monday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.56.

Liquidia Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Liquidia stock opened at $17.02 on Monday. Liquidia has a 12-month low of $8.26 and a 12-month high of $19.41. The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.44 and a beta of 0.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $14.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.48.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.45) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.12 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 million. Liquidia had a negative return on equity of 163.21% and a negative net margin of 765.38%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Liquidia will post -1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Michael Kaseta sold 8,283 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.57, for a total value of $112,400.31. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 396,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,377,994.55. The trade was a 2.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jason Adair sold 1,856 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.57, for a total value of $25,185.92. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 184,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,501,005.28. This represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,138 shares of company stock valued at $450,233 over the last quarter. 26.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liquidia

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Liquidia by 855.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 235,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,354,000 after buying an additional 210,753 shares during the period. DMC Group LLC boosted its stake in Liquidia by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. DMC Group LLC now owns 16,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,000 after acquiring an additional 2,419 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in Liquidia by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 18,307 shares of the company’s stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 1,125 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Liquidia by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 80,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $948,000 after purchasing an additional 2,741 shares during the period. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp increased its stake in Liquidia by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 65,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $767,000 after purchasing an additional 2,115 shares in the last quarter. 64.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Liquidia

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).