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

Shares of Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST) have received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $8.50.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AQST shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Aquestive Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, April 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $8.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Aquestive Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Daniel Barber sold 8,257 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.29, for a total value of $35,422.53. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 660,574 shares in the company, valued at $2,833,862.46. The trade was a 1.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Julie Krop sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.02, for a total transaction of $125,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $125,500. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 6.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 57.8% during the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,385,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,765,000 after buying an additional 507,527 shares during the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aquestive Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $504,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Aquestive Therapeutics by 99.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,405,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,981,000 after acquiring an additional 1,197,459 shares during the last quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 264,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Aquestive Therapeutics by 133.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 28,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,000 after acquiring an additional 16,525 shares in the last quarter. 32.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aquestive Therapeutics Stock Down 2.4%

NASDAQ AQST opened at $3.68 on Friday. Aquestive Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $2.93 and a twelve month high of $7.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $461.73 million, a PE ratio of -6.03 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $4.18 and its 200 day moving average is $4.10.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14) by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $14.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.90 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Aquestive Therapeutics will post -0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

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.