Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN) Short Interest Up 33.3% in May

Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,330,000 shares, a growth of 33.3% from the May 15th total of 7,000,000 shares. Currently, 11.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,910,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.9 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aspen Aerogels

In other Aspen Aerogels news, CEO Donald R. Young acquired 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $5.35 per share, with a total value of $107,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 550,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,947,079.60. This trade represents a 3.77% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aspen Aerogels

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASPN. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Aspen Aerogels during the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in Aspen Aerogels during the 1st quarter worth approximately $45,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in Aspen Aerogels by 460.4% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 7,436 shares of the construction company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 6,109 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in Aspen Aerogels by 2,137.9% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,325 shares of the construction company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 7,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in Aspen Aerogels during the 1st quarter worth approximately $65,000. 97.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on ASPN shares. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Aspen Aerogels from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. TD Cowen raised shares of Aspen Aerogels to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $7.00 price target (down previously from $13.00) on shares of Aspen Aerogels in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aspen Aerogels to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, B. Riley cut their price target on shares of Aspen Aerogels from $35.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aspen Aerogels presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $18.44.

Aspen Aerogels Price Performance

Shares of Aspen Aerogels stock traded down $0.35 on Tuesday, reaching $5.94. 930,551 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,010,221. The firm's 50 day moving average is $5.73 and its 200-day moving average is $8.64. The firm has a market cap of $487.98 million, a PE ratio of -1.70 and a beta of 2.68. Aspen Aerogels has a one year low of $4.16 and a one year high of $33.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 3.53 and a current ratio of 4.22.

Aspen Aerogels (NYSE:ASPN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The construction company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $78.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $82.75 million. Aspen Aerogels had a negative net margin of 65.47% and a positive return on equity of 6.69%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.02) EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Aspen Aerogels will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Aspen Aerogels

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.