Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) Trading 5.7% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST)’s stock price shot up 5.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $6.31 and last traded at $6.3340. 896,544 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 2,040,589 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.99.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on AQST shares. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Zacks Research raised Aquestive Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price target on Aquestive Therapeutics from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $8.83.

Aquestive Therapeutics Trading Up 5.3%

The company has a market capitalization of $769.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.89 and a beta of 1.59. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.07.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $12.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.94 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aquestive Therapeutics news, COO Cassie Jung sold 67,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.01, for a total transaction of $473,700.75. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 240,771 shares in the company, valued at $1,687,804.71. This represents a 21.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Carl N. Kraus sold 20,272 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.00, for a total value of $141,904.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 282,475 shares in the company, valued at $1,977,325. This represents a 6.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 97,847 shares of company stock valued at $685,605 in the last three months. 7.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 1,862 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Aquestive Therapeutics by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 47,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,000 after buying an additional 2,649 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 78.3% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 9,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 4,134 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 16.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 32,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 4,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 31.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 20,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 4,752 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 32.45% of the company’s stock.

About Aquestive Therapeutics

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.