Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) Hits New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Aquestive Therapeutics' stock (NASDAQ:AQST) reached a new 52-week high at $6.87, closing at $6.69 with significant trading volume of over 5.9 million shares.
• Several analysts have recently upgraded their ratings for the stock, with JMP Securities raising the price target from $9.00 to $12.00, indicating a "market outperform" outlook.
• Insider transactions reveal significant sales, including COO Cassie Jung selling 62,180 shares, contributing to a total of nearly 179,000 shares sold by insiders in the past ninety days.

Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $6.87 and last traded at $6.69, with a volume of 5911475 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $6.20.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AQST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JMP Securities lifted their target price on Aquestive Therapeutics from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Lifesci Capital upgraded Aquestive Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Aquestive Therapeutics from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $10.71.

Aquestive Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $667.15 million, a P/E ratio of -9.56 and a beta of 1.77. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $4.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.68.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.18) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $10.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.32 million. Aquestive Therapeutics has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Peter E. Boyd sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.30, for a total transaction of $79,500.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 288,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,528,111.90. The trade was a 4.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Cassie Jung sold 62,180 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total transaction of $310,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 283,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,416,730. This trade represents a 18.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 178,923 shares of company stock worth $1,006,598. 8.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aquestive Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 16.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,977,001 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,545,000 after acquiring an additional 276,295 shares in the last quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE increased its holdings in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 25.5% during the second quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE now owns 1,676,451 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,549,000 after acquiring an additional 340,767 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in Aquestive Therapeutics by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,059,760 shares of the company's stock worth $3,073,000 after buying an additional 75,275 shares during the period. Sio Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Aquestive Therapeutics by 141.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sio Capital Management LLC now owns 947,489 shares of the company's stock worth $3,136,000 after buying an additional 555,860 shares during the period. Finally, Everstar Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Aquestive Therapeutics by 119.5% in the 2nd quarter. Everstar Asset Management LLC now owns 658,607 shares of the company's stock worth $2,180,000 after buying an additional 358,607 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 32.45% of the company's stock.

About Aquestive Therapeutics

Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc operates as a pharmaceutical company in the United States and internationally. The company markets Sympazan, an oral soluble film formulation of clobazam for the treatment of lennox-gastaut syndrome; Suboxone, a sublingual film formulation of buprenorphine and naloxone for the treatment of opioid dependence; Zuplenz, an oral soluble film formulation of ondansetron for the treatment of nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy and post-operative recovery; and Azstarys, a once-daily product for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

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