Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) Shares Up 3.8% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Aquestive Therapeutics shares rose 3.8% to about $5.31, although trading volume was 83% below the stock’s average session volume.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: HC Wainwright maintained a Buy rating with a $10 price target, while Weiss Ratings and Wall Street Zen issued Sell ratings. Overall, the consensus rating is Buy with an $8.80 target price.
• The company’s latest quarterly results missed EPS expectations, reporting a loss of $0.18 per share versus the anticipated $0.10 loss, but revenue of $13.82 million exceeded estimates of $11.42 million. Several institutional investors also initiated or increased positions during the second quarter.

Shares of Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST - Get Free Report) were up 3.8% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $5.31 and last traded at $5.3050. 511,268 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 3,097,085 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.11.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on AQST. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, July 17th. 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, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Aquestive Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $8.80.

Aquestive Therapeutics Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $660.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.09 and a beta of 1.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $4.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.17.

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

Insider Activity at Aquestive Therapeutics

In related news, Director Julie Krop sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.02, for a total transaction of $125,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 25,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $125,500. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aquestive Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Owl Capital Holdings LP bought a new stake in Aquestive Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,923,000. Latash Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,011,000. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 57.8% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,385,843 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,765,000 after buying an additional 507,527 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new position in Aquestive Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth $1,175,000. Finally, AWM Investment Company Inc. bought a new position in Aquestive Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,978,000. 32.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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