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

Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 3,169 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 211% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,020 call options.

Aquestive Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:AQST opened at $5.67 on Friday. Aquestive Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $2.12 and a 1-year high of $6.00. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.40. The firm has a market cap of $565.41 million, a PE ratio of -8.10 and a beta of 1.82.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.04. The company had revenue of $10.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.32 million. Aquestive Therapeutics has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Aquestive Therapeutics will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aquestive Therapeutics

In other news, COO Cassie Jung sold 62,180 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total value of $310,900.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 283,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,416,730. This trade represents a 18.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter E. Boyd sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.30, for a total value of $79,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 288,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 8.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AQST. Summit Wealth & Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics during the first quarter worth $29,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Aquestive Therapeutics by 78.3% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Finally, USAdvisors Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $33,000. 32.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AQST shares. Lifesci Capital upgraded shares of Aquestive Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Aquestive Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aquestive Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.29.

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.