What happened
Liquidia Technologies (LQDA -1.81%) stock went on quite a ride during Thursday's trading session. On the back of a new analyst take on the company, its shares climbed almost 22% higher in early action before settling down to a gain of slightly over 10% on the day.
So what
Bank of America Securities was the entity behind the analysis. The bank's Greg Harrison initiated coverage on Liquidia Thursday morning with a buy recommendation at a price target of $12 per share. That's more than three times the level at which the stock closed on Wednesday.
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The content of Harrison's research note wasn't immediately available. We can say that it represents something of a contrarian view, though, as Liquidia hasn't been the most popular stock lately.
At the beginning of this week, the biotech took quite a hit when peer United Therapeutics (UTHR -0.15%) announced it had received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) drug Tyvaso DPI. Liquidia also has a PAH drug, Yutrepia. However, this has received only tentative FDA approval and, due to a pending legal dispute with United Therapeutics, cannot yet be marketed in this country.
Now what
PAH treatments are certainly worth fighting over. Liquidia CEO Roger Jeffs has said that the company's potential addressable market for Yutrepia could top $1 billion. The company clearly expects its drug to hit the market before long. Last month, it raised $50 million in a secondary stock issue to help fund commercialization efforts.
