Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) Sets New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Shares of Aquestive Therapeutics reached a new 12-month high at $6.00, closing at $5.71 with a trading volume of over 5.4 million shares.
• Analysts have varied ratings for the stock, with one "Strong Buy," seven "Buy," and one "Hold," while the average price target stands at $10.29.
• Recent insider transactions include the sale of 15,000 shares by Peter E. Boyd and 62,180 shares by COO Cassie Jung, indicating potential interest from company executives.

Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $6.00 and last traded at $5.71, with a volume of 5448803 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $4.94.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AQST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Aquestive Therapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $10.00 price target on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Lifesci Capital raised shares of Aquestive Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $10.29.

Aquestive Therapeutics Stock Up 4.6%

The firm has a market cap of $539.29 million, a P/E ratio of -7.75 and a beta of 1.82. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $4.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.42.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.04. The business 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. As a group, analysts forecast that Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Cassie Jung sold 62,180 shares of Aquestive Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total value of $310,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 283,346 shares in the company, valued at $1,416,730. This trade represents a 18.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Peter E. Boyd sold 15,000 shares of Aquestive Therapeutics 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 288,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,528,111.90. The trade was a 4.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 77,580 shares of company stock valued at $392,800 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 7.85% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aquestive Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AQST. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in 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 grew its stake in 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 grew its stake in Aquestive Therapeutics by 7.6% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,059,760 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,073,000 after acquiring an additional 75,275 shares in the last quarter. Sio Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Aquestive Therapeutics by 141.9% during the second quarter. Sio Capital Management LLC now owns 947,489 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,136,000 after acquiring an additional 555,860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Aquestive Therapeutics by 905.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 690,284 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,457,000 after acquiring an additional 621,614 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.