ASP Isotopes (NASDAQ:ASPI) Shares Down 9.6% Following Insider Selling

Key Points

• Shares of ASP Isotopes fell 9.6% to $9.99 following insider selling by CEO Robert Ainscow, who sold 22,500 shares at an average price of $13.60.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings loss of ($1.03) earnings per share, significantly missing analysts' expectations of (0.11).
• Institutional investors have shown increased interest, with firms like Ameritas Investment Partners raising their stakes in ASP Isotopes by over 41% in the recent quarter.

Shares of ASP Isotopes Inc. (NASDAQ:ASPI - Get Free Report) fell 9.6% on Friday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $10.12 and last traded at $9.99. 8,605,778 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 118% from the average session volume of 3,947,859 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.05.

Specifically, CEO Robert Ainscow sold 22,500 shares of ASP Isotopes stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.60, for a total transaction of $306,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,647,193 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,401,824.80. The trade was a 1.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on ASPI. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $11.00 price objective on shares of ASP Isotopes in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of ASP Isotopes in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $11.00.

ASP Isotopes Stock Down 10.1%

The stock's fifty day moving average is $9.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.12. The company has a current ratio of 14.72, a quick ratio of 14.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.53. The company has a market capitalization of $912.94 million, a PE ratio of -16.42 and a beta of 3.29.

ASP Isotopes (NASDAQ:ASPI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The company reported ($1.03) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.11) by ($0.92). The company had revenue of $1.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.60 million. ASP Isotopes had a negative return on equity of 239.22% and a negative net margin of 2,181.62%. As a group, analysts predict that ASP Isotopes Inc. will post -0.24 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASP Isotopes

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASPI. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in ASP Isotopes by 41.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 5,483 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in ASP Isotopes by 84.9% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,549 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in ASP Isotopes by 84.8% in the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 9,370 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 4,299 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in ASP Isotopes by 96.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 10,890 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 5,353 shares during the period. Finally, PFG Investments LLC bought a new stake in ASP Isotopes in the 1st quarter valued at about $94,000. 16.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About ASP Isotopes

ASP Isotopes Inc, a development stage advanced materials company, focuses on the production, distribution, marketing, and sale of isotopes. It engages in the production and commercialization of Molybdenum-100, a non-radioactive isotope for the medical industry; Carbon-14; and Silicon-28. The company is also developing Quantum Enrichment technology to produce Ytterbium-176, Nickel-64, Lithium 6, Lithium7, and Uranium-235.

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