Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Liquidia Co. (NASDAQ:LQDA) shares 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.

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 net margin of 765.38% and a negative return on equity of 163.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on LQDA shares. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Liquidia in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Liquidia in a report on Thursday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $25.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Rajeev Saggar sold 6,249 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.78, for a total value of $73,613.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 270,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,185,170.64. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Russell Schundler sold 16,393 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.78, for a total value of $193,109.54. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 71,245 shares of company stock worth $843,326 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 30.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liquidia

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Liquidia during the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Liquidia by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 1,719 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Liquidia in the 4th quarter worth about $142,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Liquidia in the 4th quarter worth about $154,000. Finally, Walleye Trading LLC increased its holdings in Liquidia by 54.7% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. 64.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Liquidia Trading Up 1.2 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $14.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.12. The company has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of -9.15 and a beta of 0.07.

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).