Trulieve Cannabis (NYSE:TRLV – Get Free Report) and Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST – Get Free Report) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and profitability.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
32.5% of Aquestive Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. 3.8% of Trulieve Cannabis shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.8% of Aquestive Therapeutics shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares Trulieve Cannabis and Aquestive Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Trulieve Cannabis | -41.22% | -0.34% | -0.14% |
| Aquestive Therapeutics | -162.33% | N/A | -57.35% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Trulieve Cannabis and Aquestive Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Trulieve Cannabis | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Aquestive Therapeutics | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2.50 |
Trulieve Cannabis presently has a consensus price target of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 33.39%. Aquestive Therapeutics has a consensus price target of $8.75, suggesting a potential upside of 144.41%. Given Aquestive Therapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Aquestive Therapeutics is more favorable than Trulieve Cannabis.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Trulieve Cannabis and Aquestive Therapeutics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Trulieve Cannabis | $1.18 billion | 1.83 | -$116.38 million | $0.20 | 56.22 |
| Aquestive Therapeutics | $44.54 million | 10.10 | -$83.78 million | ($0.64) | -5.59 |
Aquestive Therapeutics has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Trulieve Cannabis. Aquestive Therapeutics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Trulieve Cannabis, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Aquestive Therapeutics beats Trulieve Cannabis on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Trulieve Cannabis
Trulieve Cannabis Corp. is a U.S. cannabis company that cultivates, processes and sells cannabis products through a vertically integrated business. Its offerings include flower, concentrates, vape products, edibles and other cannabis products, sold under brands such as Trulieve and Modern Flower. Founded in Florida in 2015, the company built its business in that state and expanded into other U.S. markets, including Arizona and Pennsylvania. Its operations and product offerings are shaped by the regulations in each state where it operates.
About Aquestive Therapeutics
Aquestive Therapeutics is a pharmaceutical company that develops medicines and drug-delivery technologies, with a focus on treatments for central nervous system disorders and severe allergic reactions. Its PharmFilm technology enables medicines to be delivered in dissolvable oral films. The company’s products and product portfolio have included Sympazan, a clobazam oral film for seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, and Libervant, a diazepam buccal film for seizure clusters. Aquestive has also developed film-based medicines with commercial partners, including formulations of Suboxone and Zuplenz.
Receive News & Ratings for Trulieve Cannabis Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Trulieve Cannabis and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
