Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST) Receives Average Recommendation of "Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts rate Aquestive an average "Buy" across eight firms (1 sell, 5 buy, 2 strong buy) with a mean 12‑month price target of $8.80.
• The company recently missed quarterly estimates (EPS of -$0.26 vs. -$0.13 expected) and reported revenue of $13.02M versus $13.28M, with analysts forecasting -0.46 EPS for the fiscal year.
• Significant insider selling occurred on March 10 (CEO and COO sales), totaling 395,690 shares (~$1.65M) in the last three months; insiders now own 6.81% of the stock.

Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Buy" from the eight research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $8.80.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AQST shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Lake Street Capital set a $6.00 price objective on Aquestive Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer started coverage on Aquestive Therapeutics in a report on Friday, April 24th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $8.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Aquestive Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th.

Aquestive Therapeutics Price Performance

AQST stock opened at $4.22 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.94. The stock has a market cap of $524.50 million, a PE ratio of -5.41 and a beta of 1.50. Aquestive Therapeutics has a one year low of $2.12 and a one year high of $7.55.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $13.02 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.28 million. On average, research analysts expect that Aquestive Therapeutics will post -0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Aquestive Therapeutics news, COO Cassie Jung sold 45,791 shares of Aquestive Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.17, for a total value of $190,948.47. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 274,980 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,146,666.60. The trade was a 14.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel Barber sold 180,677 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.17, for a total value of $753,423.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,004,753 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,189,820.01. The trade was a 15.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 395,690 shares of company stock valued at $1,650,027. Insiders own 6.81% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Aquestive Therapeutics by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 129,019 shares of the company's stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 14,025 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Aquestive Therapeutics by 16.2% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,977,001 shares of the company's stock worth $6,545,000 after acquiring an additional 276,295 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 15.3% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 98,751 shares of the company's stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 13,130 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 46.3% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 435,972 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,443,000 after acquiring an additional 137,956 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 35.0% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 140,872 shares of the company's stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 36,509 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 32.45% of the company's stock.

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.

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