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

Key Points

• Aquestive Therapeutics has an average analyst rating of “Buy” from seven covering firms, with an average 1-year price target of $8.50. Ratings are mixed, however, with one sell, four buy, and two strong buy recommendations.
• The company reported better-than-expected Q1 results, posting EPS of -$0.07 versus estimates for -$0.14 and revenue of $14.45 million versus the expected $10.90 million. Analysts currently expect full-year EPS of -$0.41.
• There was notable insider selling, including CEO Daniel Barber and Director Julie Krop, both under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans. At the same time, hedge fund activity showed some recent buying interest, while institutional investors own 32.45% of the stock.

Shares of Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Buy" from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $8.50.

AQST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a report on Friday, April 24th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $8.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Aquestive Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, April 20th.

Insider Transactions at Aquestive Therapeutics

In other Aquestive Therapeutics news, CEO Daniel Barber sold 8,257 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.29, for a total transaction of $35,422.53. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 660,574 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,833,862.46. The trade was a 1.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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 that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $125,500. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 6.81% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aquestive Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AQST. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aquestive Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $28,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Aquestive Therapeutics by 78.3% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 9,413 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 4,134 shares during the period. Lineweaver Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aquestive Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 103.9% in the 1st quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC now owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 264,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 32.45% of the company's stock.

Aquestive Therapeutics Trading Up 4.6%

Shares of Aquestive Therapeutics stock opened at $4.12 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $516.94 million, a PE ratio of -6.75 and a beta of 1.45. The firm's 50 day moving average is $4.22 and its 200 day moving average is $4.19. Aquestive Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $2.93 and a 1 year high of $7.55.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.14) by $0.07. The company had revenue of $14.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.90 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Aquestive Therapeutics will post -0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

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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