MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 7,996 Shares of Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. $AQST

MetLife Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST) by 19.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,225 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,996 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Aquestive Therapeutics were worth $93,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AQST. Summit Wealth & Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Aquestive Therapeutics in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Aquestive Therapeutics in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Aquestive Therapeutics in the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new position in Aquestive Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $57,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Aquestive Therapeutics in the first quarter worth approximately $58,000. 32.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aquestive Therapeutics

In related news, COO Cassie Jung sold 62,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total transaction of $310,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 283,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,416,730. This trade represents a 18.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Peter E. Boyd sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.30, for a total transaction of $79,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 288,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,528,111.90. The trade was a 4.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 8.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AQST. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 price target on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Lifesci Capital upgraded shares of Aquestive Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Aquestive Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $10.29.

Aquestive Therapeutics Stock Performance

AQST opened at $4.88 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $486.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.97 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a fifty day moving average of $4.07 and a 200 day moving average of $3.28. Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2.12 and a fifty-two week high of $5.80.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.04. The company had revenue of $10.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.32 million. Aquestive Therapeutics has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Aquestive Therapeutics Company Profile

Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc operates as a pharmaceutical company in the United States and internationally. The company markets Sympazan, an oral soluble film formulation of clobazam for the treatment of lennox-gastaut syndrome; Suboxone, a sublingual film formulation of buprenorphine and naloxone for the treatment of opioid dependence; Zuplenz, an oral soluble film formulation of ondansetron for the treatment of nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy and post-operative recovery; and Azstarys, a once-daily product for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.