Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) Stock Price Down 4.5% – Here’s Why

Shares of Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST) traded down 4.5% on Friday . The company traded as low as $4.81 and last traded at $4.7660. 780,455 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 3,060,427 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.99.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Aquestive Therapeutics Trading Down 2.7%

The firm has a market cap of $609.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.48 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $4.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.25.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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. As a group, research analysts forecast that Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Aquestive Therapeutics

In other news, Director Julie Krop sold 25,000 shares of Aquestive Therapeutics 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 6.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aquestive Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Owl Capital Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Aquestive Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,923,000. Latash Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,011,000. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 507,527 shares in the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,175,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in the second quarter worth approximately $33,569,000. 32.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.