Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST)’s stock price 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 changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Aquestive Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $557.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.27 and a beta of 1.49. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.05.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $14.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.90 million. Research analysts expect that Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of Aquestive Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AQST. Walleye Capital LLC boosted its position in Aquestive Therapeutics by 103.3% during the 1st quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 584,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,428,000 after buying an additional 297,166 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its position in Aquestive Therapeutics by 28.9% in the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 878,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,645,000 after acquiring an additional 197,076 shares during the period. Simplify Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at $972,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at $563,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 6,233.4% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,171,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,569,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153,175 shares during the period. 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.