Brokerages Set Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST) Target Price at $8.50

Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST) has earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $8.50.

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

Aquestive Therapeutics Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ AQST opened at $4.04 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $4.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.14. Aquestive Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $2.93 and a 52-week high of $7.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $506.90 million, a P/E ratio of -6.62 and a beta of 1.45.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by $0.07. The company had revenue of $14.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.90 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Aquestive Therapeutics will post -0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Julie Krop sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.02, for a total value of $125,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at $125,500. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel Barber sold 8,257 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,833,862.46. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 6.81% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aquestive Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Aquestive Therapeutics by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 129,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 14,025 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Aquestive Therapeutics by 16.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,977,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,545,000 after purchasing an additional 276,295 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its position in Aquestive Therapeutics by 15.3% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 98,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 13,130 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Aquestive Therapeutics by 46.3% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 435,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,443,000 after purchasing an additional 137,956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 35.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 140,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $466,000 after purchasing an additional 36,509 shares during the period. 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.