Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) Shares Up 5.7% – Should You Buy?

Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST)’s share price traded up 5.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $6.31 and last traded at $6.3340. 896,544 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 2,040,589 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.99.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Lifesci Capital upgraded shares of Aquestive Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Zacks Research raised 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 price target 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. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Aquestive Therapeutics from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Aquestive Therapeutics from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $8.83.

Aquestive Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $769.21 million, a PE ratio of -8.89 and a beta of 1.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $6.16 and its 200-day moving average is $5.07.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $12.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.94 million. On average, analysts predict that Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.01, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Carl N. Kraus sold 20,272 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.00, for a total transaction of $141,904.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 282,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,977,325. The trade was a 6.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 97,847 shares of company stock worth $685,605 in the last three months. 7.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aquestive Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 53,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $154,000 after buying an additional 5,152 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Aquestive Therapeutics during the first quarter worth $686,000. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Aquestive Therapeutics by 36.4% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 108,663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 29,027 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Aquestive Therapeutics by 15.7% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 125,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 16,984 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 205,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 25,932 shares during the last quarter. 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.