Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) Shares Up 7.1% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Aquestive Therapeutics shares rose 7.1% to $4.595, with trading volume slightly below its average. The company has a market capitalization of about $574 million.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: the stock has a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $8.50, including Oppenheimer’s $8 target and “outperform” rating.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting a loss of $0.07 per share versus the $0.14 consensus loss and revenue of $14.45 million versus $10.90 million expected. However, company insiders recently sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST - Get Free Report) was up 7.1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $4.63 and last traded at $4.5950. 2,647,385 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 12% from the average session volume of 2,998,724 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AQST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Aquestive Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, April 24th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $8.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aquestive Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a report on Friday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aquestive Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $8.50.

Aquestive Therapeutics Trading Up 6.6%

The firm has a market cap of $574.03 million, a PE ratio of -7.52 and a beta of 1.49. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $4.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.06.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by $0.07. The business had revenue of $14.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.90 million. On average, research analysts expect that Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aquestive Therapeutics news, Director Julie Krop sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.02, for a total value of $125,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at $125,500. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel Barber sold 8,257 shares of Aquestive Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.29, for a total value of $35,422.53. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 660,574 shares in the company, valued at $2,833,862.46. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 6.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aquestive Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,794 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 1,862 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Aquestive Therapeutics by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 47,098 shares of the company's stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 2,649 shares during the period. Informed Momentum Co LLC grew its position in Aquestive Therapeutics by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Informed Momentum Co LLC now owns 155,053 shares of the company's stock worth $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 2,721 shares during the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Aquestive Therapeutics by 5.9% in the first quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC now owns 58,060 shares of the company's stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 3,210 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 369,728 shares of the company's stock worth $2,388,000 after buying an additional 3,300 shares during the period. 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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