Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) Trading Down 5.3% After Insider Selling

Key Points

• Aquestive Therapeutics' stock price fell 5.3% on Monday due to insider selling, with over 2.4 million shares traded, significantly exceeding the average daily volume.
• Insider Peter E. Boyd sold 10,000 shares at an average price of $6.30, while CEO Daniel Barber sold 91,343 shares at $6.03, both resulting in notable decreases in their ownership stakes.
• Analyst ratings for Aquestive Therapeutics show a consensus of "Buy" with a price target of $10.29, indicating a generally positive outlook despite recent insider selling.

Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 5.3% on Monday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $5.68 and last traded at $5.68. Approximately 2,461,670 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 37% from the average daily volume of 1,799,700 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.99.

Specifically, insider Peter E. Boyd sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.30, for a total transaction of $63,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 278,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,434.90. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel Barber sold 91,343 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.03, for a total transaction of $550,798.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 923,430 shares in the company, valued at $5,568,282.90. This represents a 9.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AQST shares. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $10.00 price target on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Aquestive Therapeutics from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Lifesci Capital raised Aquestive Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Aquestive Therapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $10.29.

Aquestive Therapeutics Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $563.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.07 and a beta of 1.82. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $4.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.50.

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

Institutional Trading of Aquestive Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AQST. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 905.2% in 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 during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in Aquestive Therapeutics by 63.9% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 61,989 shares of the company's stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 24,170 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Aquestive Therapeutics by 111.2% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 87,227 shares of the company's stock worth $311,000 after buying an additional 45,926 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Aquestive Therapeutics by 79.8% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 25,232 shares of the company's stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 11,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 31.5% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 175,952 shares of the company's stock worth $626,000 after purchasing an additional 42,160 shares during the last quarter. 32.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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