Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Aug 21st, 2026

Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST – Get Free Report) saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 3,801,558 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 23% from the previous session’s volume of 3,097,437 shares.The stock last traded at $4.5950 and had previously closed at $4.32.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AQST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Aquestive Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, April 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $8.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut Aquestive Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aquestive Therapeutics in a report on Friday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Aquestive Therapeutics has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $8.50.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on AQST

Aquestive Therapeutics Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $4.17 and its 200-day moving average is $4.12. The stock has a market cap of $563.55 million, a PE ratio of -6.91 and a beta of 1.49.

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $13.82 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.42 million. Analysts expect that Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Julie Krop sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.02, for a total value of $125,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at $125,500. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 6.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AQST. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Aquestive Therapeutics by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 129,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 14,025 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 16.2% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,977,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,545,000 after purchasing an additional 276,295 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 15.3% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 98,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 13,130 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 46.3% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 435,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,443,000 after purchasing an additional 137,956 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Aquestive Therapeutics by 35.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 140,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $466,000 after purchasing an additional 36,509 shares during the period. 32.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Aquestive Therapeutics

(Get Free Report)

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.