Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) Stock Price Up 6.7% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST) traded up 6.7% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $5.05 and last traded at $5.0360. Approximately 488,019 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 3,168,518 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.72.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer began coverage on Aquestive Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, April 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $8.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised Aquestive Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $8.50.

Aquestive Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $625.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.19 and a beta of 1.46. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $4.19 and its 200 day moving average is $4.42.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14) by $0.07. The company had revenue of $14.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.90 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aquestive Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Daniel Barber sold 8,257 shares of Aquestive Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.29, for a total value of $35,422.53. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 660,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,833,862.46. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 6.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aquestive Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AQST. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $504,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 99.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,405,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,981,000 after purchasing an additional 1,197,459 shares during the period. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC increased its position in Aquestive Therapeutics by 103.9% during the 1st quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 264,000 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Aquestive Therapeutics by 133.0% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 28,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,000 after buying an additional 16,525 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Aquestive Therapeutics by 52.8% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 18,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 6,221 shares during the period. 32.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aquestive Therapeutics Company Profile

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.