Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) Lowered to "Sell" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Aquestive Therapeutics from “Hold” to “Sell,” although the broader analyst consensus remains “Buy” with an average price target of $8.50.
• Aquestive reported a quarterly loss of $0.18 per share, missing the $0.10-loss consensus estimate, while revenue of $13.82 million exceeded expectations of $11.42 million.
• The stock opened at $4.25, with a market capitalization of approximately $533 million; an insider recently sold 25,000 shares, while institutional investors own 32.45% of the company.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on AQST. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Aquestive Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, April 24th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $8.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aquestive Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $8.50.

Aquestive Therapeutics Price Performance

AQST opened at $4.25 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $533.43 million, a P/E ratio of -6.54 and a beta of 1.49. Aquestive Therapeutics has a one year low of $2.93 and a one year high of $7.55. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $4.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.08.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $13.82 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.42 million. On average, analysts expect that Aquestive Therapeutics will post -0.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Aquestive Therapeutics

In other Aquestive Therapeutics news, Director Julie Krop sold 25,000 shares of the company'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 transaction, the director owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $125,500. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 6.81% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aquestive Therapeutics

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Aquestive Therapeutics in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 78.3% in 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 last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aquestive Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, ADAR1 Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 103.9% during the 1st quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC now owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 264,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 32.45% of the company's stock.

About Aquestive Therapeutics

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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