Liquidia’s (LQDA) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at Needham & Company LLC

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $19.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target indicates a potential upside of 52.49% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on LQDA. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Lifesci Capital initiated coverage on shares of Liquidia in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.38.

Liquidia Stock Up 0.5 %

LQDA opened at $12.46 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $11.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.02. The company has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.64 and a beta of 0.23. Liquidia has a twelve month low of $8.26 and a twelve month high of $16.99.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Roger Jeffs sold 8,053 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.11, for a total transaction of $89,468.83. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 812,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,023,464.23. This trade represents a 0.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Kaseta sold 3,892 shares of Liquidia stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.11, for a total value of $43,240.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 311,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,456,054.36. This represents a 1.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,007 shares of company stock valued at $245,780 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 30.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liquidia

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LQDA. Whitefort Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Liquidia by 119.8% during the third quarter. Whitefort Capital Management LP now owns 1,702,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,020,000 after acquiring an additional 927,546 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Liquidia by 144.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 390,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,903,000 after purchasing an additional 230,820 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Liquidia by 855.3% in 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. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Liquidia by 18.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 207,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,496,000 after buying an additional 32,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighVista Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Liquidia by 48.6% during the third quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC now owns 180,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,809,000 after acquiring an additional 59,193 shares in the last quarter. 64.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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).