Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST) Stock Rated "Moderate Buy" by Sell-Side Analysts

Key Points

• Aquestive Therapeutics has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating among eight analysts: six rate it a buy, one a strong buy, and one a sell. The average 12-month price target is $9.17, compared with a recent share price of $4.44.
• The company’s latest quarterly results were mixed: revenue of $13.82 million exceeded estimates of $11.42 million, but adjusted earnings of negative $0.18 per share missed expectations by $0.08.
• Institutional ownership stands at 32.45%, with several major investors increasing or initiating positions, while CEO Daniel Barber and insider Sherry Korczynski sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

Shares of Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eight analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $9.17.

Several analysts have recently commented on AQST shares. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $10.00 price objective on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aquestive Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $11.00 price target on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, September 10th.

Aquestive Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of Aquestive Therapeutics stock opened at $4.44 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $4.57 and its 200 day moving average is $4.31. Aquestive Therapeutics has a one year low of $2.93 and a one year high of $7.55. The firm has a market cap of $557.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.83 and a beta of 1.49.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $13.82 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.42 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Aquestive Therapeutics will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Daniel Barber sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.82, for a total transaction of $120,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 652,317 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,144,167.94. This represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. The transaction 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. Also, insider Sherry Korczynski sold 8,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.22, for a total transaction of $45,675.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 235,689 shares in the company, valued at $1,230,296.58. This trade represents a 3.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bratton Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,813,585. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth $33,569,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 99.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,405,050 shares of the company's stock worth $9,981,000 after purchasing an additional 1,197,459 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in Aquestive Therapeutics by 57.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,385,843 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,765,000 after purchasing an additional 507,527 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Aquestive Therapeutics by 6,233.4% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,171,675 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,569,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153,175 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 32.45% of the company's stock.

Aquestive Therapeutics Company Profile

Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing medicines delivered through its PharmFilm technology. The company's dissolvable oral-film platform is designed to provide alternatives to conventional tablets, capsules and injectable therapies, with potential benefits for patients who have difficulty swallowing or require rapid, convenient administration.

Aquestive's commercial products include Exservan, an oral film formulation of riluzole for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Libervant, a buccal film formulation of diazepam for the acute treatment of intermittent, stereotypic episodes of frequent seizure activity; and Sympazan, an oral film formulation of clonazepam for the treatment of seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.

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