Short Interest in Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST) Rises By 76.7%

Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,010,000 shares, a growth of 76.7% from the March 31st total of 2,270,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,450,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Aquestive Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AQST opened at $3.93 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $4.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $288.07 million, a PE ratio of -28.07 and a beta of 2.87. Aquestive Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $1.15 and a 52 week high of $6.23.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $13.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.79 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Aquestive Therapeutics will post -0.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aquestive Therapeutics

In other Aquestive Therapeutics news, insider Alexander Mark Schobel sold 50,000 shares of Aquestive Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.00, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 984,476 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,906,856. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 8.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AQST. PFG Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Aquestive Therapeutics during the first quarter worth approximately $204,000. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC acquired a new stake in Aquestive Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,709,000. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Aquestive Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. Legato Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Aquestive Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $688,000. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC grew its holdings in Aquestive Therapeutics by 314.5% in the 3rd quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 4,800,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,344,000 after buying an additional 3,642,000 shares in the last quarter. 32.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on AQST. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $10.00 target price for the company. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $7.00 target price for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $9.00 price target on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $8.00.

About Aquestive Therapeutics

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.