351,700 Shares in Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. $AQST Bought by Man Group plc

Key Points

• Man Group plc acquired 351,700 Aquestive Therapeutics shares worth approximately $1.46 million, while other major institutions also increased positions; institutional investors now own 32.45% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an $8.80 price target, despite some sell ratings from Wall Street Zen and Weiss Ratings.
• Aquestive reported quarterly revenue of $13.82 million, exceeding estimates, but its loss of $0.18 per share was wider than expected. The stock opened at $5.38 and an insider separately sold 25,000 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan.

Man Group plc purchased a new position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 351,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,463,000. Man Group plc owned approximately 0.28% of Aquestive Therapeutics at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bratton Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,813,585. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,569,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Aquestive Therapeutics by 30.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,662,132 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,651,000 after purchasing an additional 1,333,627 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Aquestive Therapeutics by 53.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,462,778 shares of the company's stock worth $15,910,000 after purchasing an additional 860,562 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Aquestive Therapeutics by 99.2% during the first 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 32.45% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Aquestive Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a report on Friday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $8.80.

Insider Activity

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 value of $125,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $125,500. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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.

Aquestive Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ AQST opened at $5.38 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $675.24 million, a PE ratio of -8.28 and a beta of 1.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $4.26 and a 200-day moving average of $4.19. Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2.93 and a 52-week high of $7.55.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $13.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.42 million. As a group, analysts predict that Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aquestive Therapeutics Company Profile

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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This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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