Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $9.1667.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AQST shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aquestive Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a report on Friday, July 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $11.00 target price on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $10.00 price target on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, August 24th.

Insider Activity at Aquestive Therapeutics

In related news, insider Sherry Korczynski sold 8,750 shares of Aquestive Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.22, for a total transaction of $45,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 235,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,230,296.58. The trade was a 3.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Julie Krop sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.02, for a total value of $125,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $125,500. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 6.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 1,862 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised 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 worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 2,649 shares during the last quarter. Informed Momentum Co LLC raised its position in Aquestive Therapeutics by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Informed Momentum Co LLC now owns 155,053 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,002,000 after acquiring an additional 2,721 shares during the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 5.9% in the first quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC now owns 58,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 3,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 369,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,388,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 32.45% of the company’s stock.

Aquestive Therapeutics Stock Performance

AQST stock opened at $4.78 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $599.94 million, a PE ratio of -7.35 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a fifty day moving average of $4.39 and a 200-day moving average of $4.26. Aquestive Therapeutics has a one year low of $2.93 and a one year high of $7.55.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $13.82 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.42 million. Equities analysts forecast that Aquestive Therapeutics will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.