Wall Street Zen Upgrades Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) to Hold

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $10.00 price objective on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $11.00 target price on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $9.17.

Aquestive Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ AQST opened at $4.78 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $599.94 million, a PE ratio of -7.35 and a beta of 1.48. Aquestive Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $2.93 and a 12 month high of $7.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $4.39 and a 200-day moving average of $4.26.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) last released its 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.42 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Aquestive Therapeutics will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Julie Krop sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $125,500. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sherry Korczynski sold 8,750 shares of Aquestive Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.22, for a total transaction of $45,675.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 235,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,230,296.58. The trade was a 3.58% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 6.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aquestive Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AQST. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 4,134 shares during the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Aquestive Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Aquestive Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, ADAR1 Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Aquestive Therapeutics by 103.9% in the 1st quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 264,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 32.45% of the company’s stock.

Aquestive Therapeutics Company Profile

Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing medicines delivered through its PharmFilm technology. The company’s dissolvable oral-film platform is designed to provide alternatives to conventional tablets, capsules and injectable therapies, with potential benefits for patients who have difficulty swallowing or require rapid, convenient administration.

Aquestive’s commercial products include Exservan, an oral film formulation of riluzole for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Libervant, a buccal film formulation of diazepam for the acute treatment of intermittent, stereotypic episodes of frequent seizure activity; and Sympazan, an oral film formulation of clonazepam for the treatment of seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.