Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) Stock Falls 6.7% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Aquestive Therapeutics shares fell 6.7% to about $4.30, with trading volume roughly 43% below the average session volume.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $8.60, versus its current price.
• The company missed quarterly EPS estimates, reporting a loss of $0.18 per share versus the expected $0.10 loss, although revenue of $13.82 million exceeded forecasts. Insiders also sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 6.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as low as $4.26 and last traded at $4.2990. Approximately 1,672,901 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 2,942,585 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.61.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $11.00 price objective on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aquestive Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $10.00 price target on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, August 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $8.60.

Aquestive Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $4.74 and a 200-day moving average of $4.35. The stock has a market cap of $522.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.44 and a beta of 1.49.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.42 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.50 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Sherry Korczynski sold 8,750 shares of Aquestive Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.22, for a total value of $45,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 235,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,230,296.58. The trade was a 3.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel Barber sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.82, for a total transaction of $120,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 652,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,144,167.94. The trade was a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 6.81% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aquestive Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AQST. Bratton Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $40,813,585. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics during the second quarter worth approximately $33,569,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Aquestive Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,941,000. Blue Owl Capital Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Aquestive Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,923,000. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its stake in Aquestive Therapeutics by 57.8% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,385,843 shares of the company's stock worth $5,765,000 after acquiring an additional 507,527 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 32.45% of the company's stock.

Aquestive Therapeutics Company Profile

Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc is a pharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes medicines using proprietary drug-delivery technologies, including its PharmFilm platform. The company's oral and buccal films are designed to dissolve in the mouth and may provide alternatives to conventional tablets, capsules, injections, or liquid formulations.

Aquestive's commercial and partnered products have included treatments for neurological conditions. Its portfolio includes Libervant (diazepam buccal film) for seizure clusters, Exservan (riluzole oral film) for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Sympazan (clonazepam oral film) for certain seizure disorders.

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