Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST) Short Interest Up 8.6% in December

Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,480,000 shares, an increase of 8.6% from the December 15th total of 9,650,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,550,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.8 days.

Aquestive Therapeutics Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ AQST traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $3.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,162,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,382,542. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $3.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.19. Aquestive Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $2.24 and a twelve month high of $6.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $282.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.89 and a beta of 2.71.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $13.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.69 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.03) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Aquestive Therapeutics will post -0.46 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Aquestive Therapeutics by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,667,515 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,306,000 after buying an additional 90,543 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 52.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,496,739 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,454,000 after purchasing an additional 512,682 shares during the last quarter. Blue Owl Capital Holdings LP lifted its position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 30.3% during the second quarter. Blue Owl Capital Holdings LP now owns 1,140,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,964,000 after purchasing an additional 265,000 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Aquestive Therapeutics by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 984,485 shares of the company's stock worth $3,505,000 after purchasing an additional 61,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Aquestive Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth about $594,000. Institutional investors own 32.45% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AQST. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $9.00 price objective on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Aquestive Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $17.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partners raised their price objective on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $10.00 target price on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $11.00.

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.