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

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

Aquestive Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of AQST stock opened at $3.10 on Monday. Aquestive Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $2.24 and a 1-year high of $6.23. The company has a market cap of $282.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.89 and a beta of 2.71. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.19.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $13.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.69 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.03) earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Aquestive Therapeutics will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aquestive Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Aquestive Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Aquestive Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $28,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Aquestive Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $76,000. Harvey Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Aquestive Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $88,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $90,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 32.45% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AQST has been the topic of several recent research reports. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a report on Friday, December 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Aquestive Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $17.00 price objective for the company. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $9.00 price target on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, 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 note on Friday, October 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aquestive Therapeutics has an average rating of “Buy” and an average 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.