Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) Hits New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) stock reached a new 52-week high of $6.43, closing at $5.90 with significant trading volume of 4.89 million shares.
• Analysts have a positive outlook on the stock, with HC Wainwright setting a target price of $10.00, while the average price target is $10.29.
• Recent insider trading included significant sales by executives, with COO Cassie Jung and insider Peter E. Boyd reducing their share holdings substantially, indicating potential caution among insiders.

Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $6.43 and last traded at $5.90, with a volume of 4892000 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $5.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AQST has been the subject of a number of research reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $10.00 target price on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Zacks Research raised shares of Aquestive Therapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Lifesci Capital raised shares of Aquestive Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $10.29.

Aquestive Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $586.85 million, a P/E ratio of -8.38 and a beta of 1.82. The firm's fifty day moving average is $4.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.47.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.04. The company had revenue of $10.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.32 million. Aquestive Therapeutics has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.46 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aquestive Therapeutics

In other Aquestive Therapeutics news, insider Peter E. Boyd sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.30, for a total value of $79,500.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 288,323 shares in the company, valued at $1,528,111.90. The trade was a 4.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 283,346 shares in the company, valued at $1,416,730. This represents a 18.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 77,580 shares of company stock worth $392,800. Corporate insiders own 8.35% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Aquestive Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 276,295 shares during the period. Pale Fire Capital SE raised its position in Aquestive Therapeutics by 25.5% in the 2nd quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE now owns 1,676,451 shares of the company's stock worth $5,549,000 after purchasing an additional 340,767 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 75,275 shares during the period. Sio Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 555,860 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Aquestive Therapeutics by 905.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 690,284 shares of the company's stock worth $2,457,000 after purchasing an additional 621,614 shares during the period. 32.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aquestive Therapeutics Company Profile

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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