Brokerages Set Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST) Target Price at $8.80

Shares of Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST) have received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the eight analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $8.80.

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 Wednesday, January 21st. Lake Street Capital set a $6.00 price objective on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aquestive Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th.

Key Aquestive Therapeutics News

Here are the key news stories impacting Aquestive Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company named Thomas A. Zalewski as Chief Legal Officer & Chief Compliance Officer (effective April 2), bringing life‑sciences regulatory and transactional experience; management says this supports advancement of Anaphylm. Appointment Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional activity and analyst coverage show continued interest: several funds materially added positions in Q4 2025 and two recent analyst overweight/outperform ratings remain on file with mid‑range price targets notably above current levels — this provides potential upside if clinical/regulatory progress resumes. (Source summary: QuiverQuant institutional & analyst data). QuiverQuant Summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Equity inducement details disclosed: the new CLO will receive RSUs and options (vesting over three years) under Nasdaq inducement rules — aligns his pay with long‑term performance but dilutive if fully exercised. Grant Details
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest reports in the feed show zero reported short shares/0.0 days to cover (likely data artifact or reporting lag) — does not indicate a genuine short squeeze or meaningful short pressure at present.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms have filed or issued shareholder alerts about a securities‑class action covering purchases between June 16, 2025 and Jan 8, 2026; deadlines for lead plaintiff motions (May 4) and ongoing litigation risk are creating selling pressure and uncertainty. Gross Law Firm Alert Rosen Alert Bernstein Alert
• Negative Sentiment: Investor alerts note an analyst price‑target cut (Cantor) and a large single‑day share decline tied to FDA/regulatory concerns around Anaphylm — adds to negative sentiment and potential valuation re‑ratings until regulatory clarity improves. Analyst/Alert Item
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling activity flagged in recent data (multiple executives sold shares over past six months) — can be perceived negatively by investors if not offset by clear company rationale. (QuiverQuant summary). Insider Activity Summary

Insider Buying and Selling at Aquestive Therapeutics

In related news, 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 directly owned 338,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,411,582.53. This represents a 8.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Cassie Jung sold 45,791 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.17, for a total transaction of $190,948.47. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 274,980 shares in the company, valued at $1,146,666.60. The trade was a 14.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 395,690 shares of company stock worth $1,650,027 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 8.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Aquestive Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,918,000. Pale Fire Capital SE boosted its position in Aquestive Therapeutics by 25.5% during the second quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE now owns 1,676,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,549,000 after purchasing an additional 340,767 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc bought a new stake in Aquestive Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $3,494,000. Sio Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Aquestive Therapeutics by 141.9% during the second quarter. Sio Capital Management LLC now owns 947,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,136,000 after purchasing an additional 555,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diametric Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $547,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 32.45% of the company’s stock.

Aquestive Therapeutics Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:AQST opened at $3.98 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $485.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.10 and a beta of 1.61. Aquestive Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $2.12 and a 1 year high of $7.55. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.21.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $13.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.28 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Aquestive Therapeutics will post -0.46 EPS 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.