Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN) Stock Rated “Hold” by Sell-Side Analysts

Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the six brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $6.25.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ASPN. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Aspen Aerogels in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Aspen Aerogels from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aspen Aerogels from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aspen Aerogels in a report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $7.75 price target on shares of Aspen Aerogels in a research report on Friday, August 7th.

Aspen Aerogels Stock Performance

ASPN opened at $4.91 on Friday. Aspen Aerogels has a 52-week low of $2.30 and a 52-week high of $8.10. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $407.81 million, a P/E ratio of -3.11 and a beta of 3.06. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $5.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.70.

Aspen Aerogels (NYSE:ASPN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The construction company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $85.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.07 million. Aspen Aerogels had a negative return on equity of 27.87% and a negative net margin of 60.81%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aspen Aerogels will post -0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Wood River Capital, Llc sold 12,280,426 shares of Aspen Aerogels stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.73, for a total transaction of $58,086,414.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aspen Aerogels

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ASPN. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 145,956 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $800,000 after buying an additional 25,650 shares during the period. Gagnon Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Aspen Aerogels by 1.4% in the third quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 1,557,874 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $8,537,000 after acquiring an additional 22,062 shares during the last quarter. AIGH Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Aspen Aerogels in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,183,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in Aspen Aerogels in the second quarter worth approximately $388,000. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Aspen Aerogels in the second quarter worth approximately $2,189,000. 97.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aspen Aerogels Company Profile

Aspen Aerogels, Inc is an advanced materials company that develops, manufactures and sells aerogel-based products. Aerogels are highly porous materials used for thermal management, insulation and protection. The company serves customers in the energy, industrial, transportation and building materials markets.

Its product portfolio includes thermal barriers designed to help protect electric vehicle batteries from thermal runaway, as well as insulation products for industrial, energy infrastructure and building applications.