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

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aquestive Therapeutics news, CEO Daniel Barber sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.82, for a total transaction of $120,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 652,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,144,167.94. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sherry Korczynski sold 8,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.22, for a total value of $45,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 235,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,230,296.58. This represents a 3.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 own 6.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Aquestive Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Owl Capital Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in the second quarter worth approximately $3,923,000. Latash Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,011,000. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 507,527 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Aquestive Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,569,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new position in Aquestive Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,175,000. 32.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aquestive Therapeutics Stock Performance

AQST stock traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $3.83. 2,762,347 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,961,702. Aquestive Therapeutics has a one year low of $2.93 and a one year high of $7.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $481.21 million, a PE ratio of -5.93 and a beta of 1.49. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $4.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.35.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) last released 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 analysts’ expectations of $11.42 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Aquestive Therapeutics will post -0.50 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AQST. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 price target on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $11.00 price objective on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aquestive Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.