Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) Stock Gets Downgrade from Wall Street Zen

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $11.00 price objective on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 target price on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $8.75.

Aquestive Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AQST opened at $3.61 on Friday. Aquestive Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $2.93 and a 52-week high of $6.74. The company has a 50 day moving average of $4.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.21. The company has a market capitalization of $453.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.64 and a beta of 1.49.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $7.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.02 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aquestive Therapeutics will post -0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Aquestive Therapeutics

In other news, insider Sherry Korczynski sold 8,750 shares of Aquestive Therapeutics 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 owned 235,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,230,296.58. This trade represents a 3.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.22, for a total value of $105,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 627,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,647,277.74. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders have sold 58,750 shares of company stock worth $271,675 in the last 90 days. 6.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aquestive Therapeutics

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

About Aquestive Therapeutics

Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing pharmaceutical products that use its proprietary PharmFilm oral film technology. The company’s films are designed to deliver medicines through the mouth, potentially offering alternatives to tablets, capsules, injections, or other conventional dosage forms.

Aquestive’s marketed products include Libervant (diazepam buccal film), an FDA-approved treatment for the acute, intermittent, and stereotypic episodes of frequent seizure activity associated with epilepsy, and Exservan (riluzole oral film), an FDA-approved treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.