Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . 3,801,558 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 23% from the previous session’s volume of 3,097,437 shares.The stock last traded at $4.5950 and had previously closed at $4.32.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, April 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $8.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Aquestive Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Aquestive Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $8.50.

Aquestive Therapeutics Stock Up 8.2%

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $4.15 and a 200 day moving average of $4.10. The firm has a market cap of $586.51 million, a PE ratio of -7.21 and a beta of 1.49.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $13.82 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.42 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Aquestive Therapeutics

In other Aquestive Therapeutics news, Director Julie Krop sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.02, for a total transaction of $125,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 25,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $125,500. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 6.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Aquestive Therapeutics by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 1,862 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Aquestive Therapeutics by 6.0% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 47,098 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 2,649 shares during the last quarter. Informed Momentum Co LLC grew its stake in Aquestive Therapeutics by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Informed Momentum Co LLC now owns 155,053 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,002,000 after buying an additional 2,721 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC now owns 58,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 3,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 369,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,388,000 after buying an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. 32.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Aquestive Therapeutics

Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel drug delivery systems. Leveraging its proprietary PharmFilm® technology, Aquestive designs thin-film formulations that facilitate sublingual, buccal and oral delivery of small molecules, offering rapid onset of action and improved patient compliance compared with traditional dosage forms.

The company’s lead product, Libervant® (diazepam) Buccal Film, is approved by the U.S.