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

Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 6,009 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 141% compared to the typical volume of 2,494 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AQST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $11.00 price target 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 research note on Thursday, October 15th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 target price on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aquestive Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aquestive Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $8.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Daniel Barber sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 627,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,647,277.74. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sherry Korczynski sold 8,750 shares of Aquestive Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.22, for a total value of $45,675.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 235,689 shares in the company, valued at $1,230,296.58. The trade was a 3.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 58,750 shares of company stock worth $271,675. 6.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AQST. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Profund Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 497.9% in the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 195,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $906,000 after purchasing an additional 163,019 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Aquestive Therapeutics by 14.7% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 22,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 2,936 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in Aquestive Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $210,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its stake in Aquestive Therapeutics by 20.5% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 49,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,000 after buying an additional 8,496 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 32.45% of the company’s stock.

Aquestive Therapeutics Stock Up 2.5%

NASDAQ:AQST traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $3.87. 533,684 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,912,447. Aquestive Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $2.93 and a 12 month high of $6.85. The company has a fifty day moving average of $4.64 and a 200 day moving average of $4.20. The stock has a market cap of $485.10 million, a PE ratio of -5.96 and a beta of 1.49.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $13.82 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.42 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Aquestive Therapeutics will post -0.50 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.