Bleakley Financial Group LLC Purchases Shares of 135,767 Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. $AQST

Bleakley Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 135,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $563,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC owned 0.11% of Aquestive Therapeutics at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AQST. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 4,134 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Aquestive Therapeutics in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Aquestive Therapeutics in the first quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC bought a new stake in Aquestive Therapeutics in the third quarter worth approximately $60,000. 32.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Julie Krop sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.02, for a total value of $125,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at $125,500. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel Barber sold 8,257 shares of Aquestive Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were 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 directly owned 660,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,833,862.46. The trade was a 1.23% 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. Company insiders own 6.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AQST shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aquestive Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, April 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $8.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $8.50.

Aquestive Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of AQST opened at $4.12 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $4.22 and a 200-day moving average of $4.19. The company has a market cap of $516.94 million, a PE ratio of -6.75 and a beta of 1.45. Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $2.93 and a one year 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14) by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $14.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.90 million. Analysts expect that Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.