Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST) have earned an average rating of “Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $8.8333.

Several equities research analysts have commented on AQST shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aquestive Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Aquestive Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics from $5.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Aquestive Therapeutics from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th.

Aquestive Therapeutics Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:AQST opened at $6.38 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $778.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.99 and a beta of 1.59. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.11. Aquestive Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $2.12 and a fifty-two week high of $7.55.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $12.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.94 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Aquestive Therapeutics will post -0.46 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aquestive Therapeutics

In related news, COO Cassie Jung sold 67,575 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.01, for a total transaction of $473,700.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 240,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,687,804.71. This represents a 21.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter E. Boyd sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.00, for a total transaction of $70,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 268,323 shares in the company, valued at $1,878,261. The trade was a 3.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 97,847 shares of company stock worth $685,605 in the last quarter. 7.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aquestive Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $31,651,000 after buying an additional 1,333,627 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $5,918,000. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in Aquestive Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,381,000. Wasatch Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at $4,049,000. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc acquired a new position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,494,000. 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.