Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on AQST. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Lake Street Capital set a $6.00 target price on Aquestive Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Aquestive Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, April 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $8.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $8.80.

Aquestive Therapeutics Trading Down 11.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:AQST opened at $4.17 on Friday. Aquestive Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $2.22 and a 12-month high of $7.55. The company has a market capitalization of $523.13 million, a PE ratio of -6.84 and a beta of 1.50. The business has a 50 day moving average of $4.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.78.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14) by $0.07. The company had revenue of $14.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.90 million. Equities research analysts predict that Aquestive Therapeutics will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Aquestive Therapeutics

In other Aquestive Therapeutics news, COO Cassie Jung sold 45,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.17, for a total value of $190,948.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 274,980 shares in the company, valued at $1,146,666.60. This represents a 14.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter E. Boyd sold 29,814 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.17, for a total value of $124,324.38. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 338,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,411,582.53. The trade was a 8.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 395,690 shares of company stock worth $1,650,027 in the last quarter. 6.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aquestive Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AQST. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Aquestive Therapeutics by 30.8% in the 3rd 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. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Aquestive Therapeutics by 159.4% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,032,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,132,000 after buying an additional 1,249,044 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Aquestive Therapeutics by 6,233.4% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,171,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,569,000 after buying an additional 1,153,175 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in Aquestive Therapeutics by 804.6% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,188,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,678,000 after buying an additional 1,057,145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in Aquestive Therapeutics by 53.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,462,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,910,000 after buying an additional 860,562 shares in the last quarter. 32.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aquestive Therapeutics Company Profile

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.