Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Shares of Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $3.94, but opened at $4.35. Aquestive Therapeutics shares last traded at $4.5320, with a volume of 1,804,451 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AQST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aquestive Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Aquestive Therapeutics in a report on Friday, April 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $8.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $8.50.

Aquestive Therapeutics Stock Up 12.8%

The firm has a market capitalization of $557.71 million, a P/E ratio of -7.27 and a beta of 1.49. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.05.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14) by $0.07. The business had revenue of $14.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.90 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Daniel Barber sold 8,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.29, for a total transaction of $35,422.53. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 660,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,833,862.46. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Julie Krop sold 25,000 shares of Aquestive Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.02, for a total value of $125,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $125,500. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AQST. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Aquestive Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,569,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $441,000. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in the second quarter worth approximately $160,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in the second quarter worth approximately $1,146,000. 32.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aquestive Therapeutics Company Profile

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.