Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST) Receives $8.80 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST) has been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $8.80.

Several brokerages recently commented on AQST. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aquestive Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Lake Street Capital set a $6.00 price target on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd.

Insider Activity at Aquestive Therapeutics

In related news, SVP Melina Cioffi sold 25,311 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.17, for a total transaction of $105,546.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 274,867 shares in the company, valued at $1,146,195.39. The trade was a 8.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Cassie Jung sold 45,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.17, for a total value of $190,948.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 274,980 shares in the company, valued at $1,146,666.60. This represents a 14.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 395,690 shares of company stock valued at $1,650,027 in the last ninety days. 7.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Aquestive Therapeutics by 30.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,662,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,651,000 after purchasing an additional 1,333,627 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 53.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,462,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,910,000 after buying an additional 860,562 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,368,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,301,000 after buying an additional 280,144 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 159.4% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,032,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,132,000 after buying an additional 1,249,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pale Fire Capital SE raised its position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 25.5% during the 2nd quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE now owns 1,676,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,549,000 after buying an additional 340,767 shares in the last quarter. 32.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aquestive Therapeutics Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ AQST opened at $3.98 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $485.72 million, a P/E ratio of -5.10 and a beta of 1.61. Aquestive Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $2.12 and a 52 week high of $7.55. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.23.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $13.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.28 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Aquestive Therapeutics will post -0.46 EPS for the current year.

More Aquestive Therapeutics News

Here are the key news stories impacting Aquestive Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company named Thomas A. Zalewski as Chief Legal Officer & Chief Compliance Officer (effective April 2), bringing life‑sciences regulatory and transactional experience; management says this supports advancement of Anaphylm. Appointment Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional activity and analyst coverage show continued interest: several funds materially added positions in Q4 2025 and two recent analyst overweight/outperform ratings remain on file with mid‑range price targets notably above current levels — this provides potential upside if clinical/regulatory progress resumes. (Source summary: QuiverQuant institutional & analyst data). QuiverQuant Summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Equity inducement details disclosed: the new CLO will receive RSUs and options (vesting over three years) under Nasdaq inducement rules — aligns his pay with long‑term performance but dilutive if fully exercised. Grant Details
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest reports in the feed show zero reported short shares/0.0 days to cover (likely data artifact or reporting lag) — does not indicate a genuine short squeeze or meaningful short pressure at present.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms have filed or issued shareholder alerts about a securities‑class action covering purchases between June 16, 2025 and Jan 8, 2026; deadlines for lead plaintiff motions (May 4) and ongoing litigation risk are creating selling pressure and uncertainty. Gross Law Firm Alert Rosen Alert Bernstein Alert
• Negative Sentiment: Investor alerts note an analyst price‑target cut (Cantor) and a large single‑day share decline tied to FDA/regulatory concerns around Anaphylm — adds to negative sentiment and potential valuation re‑ratings until regulatory clarity improves. Analyst/Alert Item
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling activity flagged in recent data (multiple executives sold shares over past six months) — can be perceived negatively by investors if not offset by clear company rationale. (QuiverQuant summary). Insider Activity Summary

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.