Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST) Receives $8.80 Average Price Target from Analysts

Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $8.80.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Aquestive Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 target price on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a report on Monday, August 24th.

Aquestive Therapeutics Trading Down 1.2%

NASDAQ AQST opened at $5.15 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $4.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.24. Aquestive Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $2.93 and a twelve month high of $7.55. The company has a market capitalization of $646.38 million, a PE ratio of -7.92 and a beta of 1.48.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.18) 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. Equities analysts predict that Aquestive Therapeutics will post -0.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Julie Krop sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at $125,500. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 6.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aquestive Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bratton Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in Aquestive Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,813,585. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Aquestive Therapeutics during the second quarter worth approximately $33,569,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $6,941,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 30.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,662,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,651,000 after acquiring an additional 1,333,627 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 159.4% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,032,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,249,044 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.