Wasatch Advisors LP Increases Stock Holdings in Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. $AQST

Wasatch Advisors LP raised its position in Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST) by 28.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 878,316 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 197,076 shares during the quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP owned approximately 0.72% of Aquestive Therapeutics worth $3,645,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Aquestive Therapeutics by 78.3% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 9,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 4,134 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aquestive Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in Aquestive Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, Lineweaver Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aquestive Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. 32.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aquestive Therapeutics Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of AQST opened at $4.39 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $550.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.20 and a beta of 1.46. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.39. Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2.93 and a twelve month high of $7.55.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Daniel Barber sold 8,257 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.29, for a total transaction of $35,422.53. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 660,574 shares in the company, valued at $2,833,862.46. The trade was a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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, Director Julie Krop sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.02, for a total transaction of $125,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at $125,500. This represents a 50.00% 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. 6.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AQST has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aquestive Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Aquestive Therapeutics in a report on Friday, April 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $8.00 target price for the company. Two 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aquestive Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $8.50.

Aquestive Therapeutics 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.