Investors Buy Large Volume of Aquestive Therapeutics Put Options (NASDAQ:AQST)

Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors acquired 11,658 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 390% compared to the average volume of 2,379 put options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Sherry Korczynski sold 8,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.22, for a total transaction of $45,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 235,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,230,296.58. The trade was a 3.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel Barber sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.22, for a total transaction of $105,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 627,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,647,277.74. The trade was a 3.83% 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. Insiders sold a total of 58,750 shares of company stock worth $271,675 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 6.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Aquestive Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bratton Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,813,585. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,569,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 99.2% during the first 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. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in Aquestive Therapeutics by 57.8% during the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,385,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,765,000 after purchasing an additional 507,527 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Owl Capital Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $3,923,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 32.45% of the company’s stock.

Aquestive Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AQST traded down $0.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $3.78. 5,245,984 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,138,648. The stock has a market capitalization of $474.43 million, a P/E ratio of -5.82 and a beta of 1.49. Aquestive Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $2.93 and a 12-month high of $7.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $4.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.35.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $13.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.42 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Aquestive Therapeutics will post -0.50 EPS for the current year.

More Aquestive Therapeutics News

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

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA accepted Aquestive’s resubmitted New Drug Application for Anaphylm, its investigational sublingual film for severe allergic reactions and anaphylaxis. The filing was deemed complete, with a PDUFA action date of March 16, 2027. If approved, Anaphylm could become the first oral rescue treatment for anaphylaxis, significantly expanding AQST’s commercial opportunity. Aquestive Therapeutics Announces FDA Acceptance of Anaphylm NDA Resubmission
• Positive Sentiment: The resubmission reportedly includes improved human-factors data showing a substantial reduction in packaging and administration errors, addressing previous FDA concerns. One analyst upgraded AQST to Buy and projected potential Anaphylm revenue exceeding $250 million annually by 2030, although competition and reimbursement remain risks. Aquestive FDA Acceptance of Anaphylm Resubmission Makes for Rating Upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: AQST CEO Daniel Barber sold 25,000 shares for approximately $105,500, reducing his direct position by 3.83%. The sale occurred under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, which lessens its significance as a discretionary bearish signal. SEC Insider Transaction Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Options trading was unusually defensive, with investors purchasing 11,658 put options—about 390% above typical volume—suggesting increased hedging or bearish speculation around AQST.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AQST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $10.00 price target on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aquestive Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $11.00 target price on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $8.60.

Aquestive Therapeutics Company Profile

Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc is a pharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes medicines using proprietary drug-delivery technologies, including its PharmFilm platform. The company’s oral and buccal films are designed to dissolve in the mouth and may provide alternatives to conventional tablets, capsules, injections, or liquid formulations.

Aquestive’s commercial and partnered products have included treatments for neurological conditions. Its portfolio includes Libervant (diazepam buccal film) for seizure clusters, Exservan (riluzole oral film) for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Sympazan (clonazepam oral film) for certain seizure disorders.