Bank of New York Mellon Corp Buys Shares of 275,544 Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. $AQST

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon purchased 275,544 shares of Aquestive Therapeutics, valued at approximately $1.15 million, establishing a new position representing about 0.22% of the company.
• Institutional interest increased, with Wasatch Advisors raising its stake by 57.8% and Bank of America nearly doubling its holdings; institutional investors now own 32.45% of AQST.
• AQST has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $9.17, despite shares opening at $4.99 and the company reporting a larger-than-expected quarterly loss of $0.18 per share.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 275,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,146,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.22% of Aquestive Therapeutics at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AQST. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position in Aquestive Therapeutics by 57.8% during the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,385,843 shares of the company's stock worth $5,765,000 after purchasing an additional 507,527 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $1,175,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $484,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 99.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,405,050 shares of the company's stock worth $9,981,000 after buying an additional 1,197,459 shares during the period. Finally, Simplify Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Aquestive Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at $972,000. Institutional investors own 32.45% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Aquestive Therapeutics

In related news, Director Julie Krop sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $125,500. This trade 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 hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 6.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Aquestive Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $11.00 price target on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $9.17.

Aquestive Therapeutics Stock Down 3.1%

AQST stock opened at $4.99 on Friday. Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2.93 and a twelve month high of $7.55. The company has a market cap of $626.29 million, a PE ratio of -7.68 and a beta of 1.48. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $4.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.25.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $13.82 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.42 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.5 EPS for the current year.

Aquestive Therapeutics 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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