Aspen Aerogels (NYSE:ASPN) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $16.86, but opened at $18.78. Aspen Aerogels shares last traded at $17.68, with a volume of 1,682,907 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ASPN shares. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Aspen Aerogels from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of Aspen Aerogels to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Aspen Aerogels in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Aspen Aerogels from $36.00 to $33.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of Aspen Aerogels in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aspen Aerogels presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.40.

Aspen Aerogels Trading Down 1.8 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a PE ratio of -1,685.00 and a beta of 2.21. The company has a quick ratio of 2.82, a current ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $23.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.66.

Aspen Aerogels (NYSE:ASPN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The construction company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $117.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.99 million. Aspen Aerogels had a net margin of 0.39% and a return on equity of 0.74%. Aspen Aerogels’s quarterly revenue was up 144.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.22) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Aspen Aerogels, Inc. will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Aspen Aerogels

In other Aspen Aerogels news, CFO Ricardo C. Rodriguez sold 32,465 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.14, for a total transaction of $978,495.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 20,790 shares in the company, valued at $626,610.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Aspen Aerogels news, CEO Donald R. Young sold 63,355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.03, for a total value of $1,902,550.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 483,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,523,709.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ricardo C. Rodriguez sold 32,465 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.14, for a total transaction of $978,495.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $626,610.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aspen Aerogels

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Driehaus Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Aspen Aerogels by 130.4% in the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156,789 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $51,439,000 after acquiring an additional 1,220,724 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 562.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 770,729 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $18,382,000 after purchasing an additional 654,350 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in Aspen Aerogels during the 2nd quarter worth $9,339,000. Hood River Capital Management LLC increased its position in Aspen Aerogels by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 3,300,443 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $58,088,000 after buying an additional 357,895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Aspen Aerogels in the second quarter valued at about $8,340,000. Institutional investors own 97.64% of the company’s stock.

Aspen Aerogels Company Profile

Aspen Aerogels, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, and sells aerogel insulation products primarily for use in the energy infrastructure and sustainable insulation materials markets in the United States, Asia, Canada, Europe, and Latin America. It operates in two segments, Energy Industrial and Thermal Barrier.