Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) Sees Strong Trading Volume - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Aquestive Therapeutics shares rose 8.2% to $4.595 on trading volume of about 3.8 million shares, 23% above the prior session.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with an average “Buy” rating and an $8.50 consensus price target, though some analysts recently issued “Sell” ratings.
• The company exceeded quarterly revenue expectations with $13.82 million but missed on earnings, reporting an EPS loss of $0.18 versus the expected $0.10 loss. An insider also sold 25,000 shares, while institutional ownership stands at 32.45%.

Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST - Get Free Report) shares saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 3,801,558 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 23% from the previous session's volume of 3,097,437 shares.The stock last traded at $4.5950 and had previously closed at $4.32.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AQST shares. Oppenheimer started coverage on Aquestive Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, April 24th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $8.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut Aquestive Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research note 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $8.50.

Aquestive Therapeutics Stock Up 8.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $586.51 million, a P/E ratio of -7.21 and a beta of 1.49. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $4.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.10.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $13.82 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.42 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Aquestive Therapeutics

In other 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 directly owned 25,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $125,500. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 6.81% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aquestive Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 12.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 129,019 shares of the company's stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 14,025 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $6,545,000 after buying an additional 276,295 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its holdings in Aquestive Therapeutics by 15.3% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 98,751 shares of the company's stock worth $327,000 after buying an additional 13,130 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Aquestive Therapeutics by 46.3% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 435,972 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,443,000 after buying an additional 137,956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Aquestive Therapeutics by 35.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 140,872 shares of the company's stock valued at $466,000 after buying an additional 36,509 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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