Wasatch Advisors LP Buys 507,527 Shares of Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. $AQST

Wasatch Advisors LP raised its stake in Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST) by 57.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,385,843 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 507,527 shares during the quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP’s holdings in Aquestive Therapeutics were worth $5,765,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 30.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,662,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,651,000 after purchasing an additional 1,333,627 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 53.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,462,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,910,000 after purchasing an additional 860,562 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 99.2% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,405,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,981,000 after purchasing an additional 1,197,459 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Aquestive Therapeutics by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,368,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,301,000 after purchasing an additional 280,144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in Aquestive Therapeutics by 159.4% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,032,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,132,000 after purchasing an additional 1,249,044 shares during the last quarter. 32.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Daniel Barber sold 8,257 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.29, for a total value of $35,422.53. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 660,574 shares in the company, valued at $2,833,862.46. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.02, for a total transaction of $125,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at $125,500. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 6.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on AQST. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Aquestive Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, April 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $8.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Aquestive Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aquestive Therapeutics has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $8.50.

Aquestive Therapeutics Trading Down 4.1%

NASDAQ:AQST opened at $4.23 on Thursday. Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2.93 and a 1-year high of $7.55. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $4.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $530.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.51 and a beta of 1.49.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $13.82 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.42 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Trending Headlines about Aquestive Therapeutics

Here are the key news stories impacting Aquestive Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue rose to $13.82 million, exceeding the $11.42 million analyst consensus. Management also provided a business update focused on advancing its product pipeline and preparations for future commercialization. Aquestive Therapeutics Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results and Provides Business Update
• Positive Sentiment: The earnings call and related coverage kept attention on Aquestive’s regulatory progress and commercial preparation. Any advancement toward approval and launch of its lead products could provide a longer-term catalyst for AQST, although investors still appear focused on execution and timing. Aquestive Therapeutics Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports describing a sharp increase in short interest appear unreliable: the data show zero shares short both currently and previously, with a zero-day days-to-cover ratio. This provides no meaningful indication of additional short-selling pressure.
• Negative Sentiment: Aquestive reported a second-quarter loss of $0.18 per share, wider than the expected $0.10 loss and the $0.14 loss recorded a year earlier. The earnings miss suggests that expenses and investment in development or commercialization remain elevated. Aquestive Therapeutics Reports Q2 Loss, Tops Revenue Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Full-year 2026 revenue guidance of $46 million to $50 million is below the approximately $50.8 million consensus estimate. The lower outlook, combined with the earnings miss, likely overshadowed the quarterly revenue beat. Aquestive Therapeutics Q2 Loss Widens, Revenue Rises

About Aquestive Therapeutics

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.