234,279 Shares in Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. $AQST Bought by Simplify Asset Management Inc.

Simplify Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 234,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $972,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 30.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,662,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,651,000 after acquiring an additional 1,333,627 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 159.4% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,032,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,132,000 after purchasing an additional 1,249,044 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 6,233.4% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,171,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,569,000 after buying an additional 1,153,175 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in Aquestive Therapeutics by 804.6% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,188,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,678,000 after buying an additional 1,057,145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Aquestive Therapeutics by 53.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,462,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,910,000 after buying an additional 860,562 shares during the period. 32.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Aquestive Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Aquestive Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, April 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $8.00 price target on the stock. Two research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Aquestive Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $8.50.

Aquestive Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ AQST opened at $4.18 on Friday. Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2.93 and a 52 week high of $7.55. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $4.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.32. The company has a market cap of $524.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.85 and a beta of 1.45.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by $0.07. The business had revenue of $14.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.90 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 25,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $125,500. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $4.29, for a total transaction of $35,422.53. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 660,574 shares in the company, valued at $2,833,862.46. This represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 6.81% of the company’s stock.

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.