Short Interest in Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN) Grows By 33.3%

Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in 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. Based on an average daily volume of 1,910,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.9 days. Currently, 11.9% of the company's stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aspen Aerogels

In other Aspen Aerogels news, CEO Donald R. Young acquired 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $5.35 per share, for a total transaction of $107,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aspen Aerogels in the first quarter worth about $43,000. Palogic Value Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 226.9% in the first quarter. Palogic Value Management L.P. now owns 425,000 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,716,000 after purchasing an additional 295,000 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in Aspen Aerogels in the 1st quarter worth approximately $307,000. Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new position in Aspen Aerogels in the 1st quarter worth approximately $282,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Aspen Aerogels by 89.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,274,356 shares of the construction company's stock worth $8,143,000 after buying an additional 602,586 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.64% of the company's stock.

Aspen Aerogels Price Performance

NYSE ASPN traded down $0.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $5.80. 2,208,735 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,012,728. Aspen Aerogels has a 1-year low of $4.16 and a 1-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. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $5.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.54. The company has a market cap of $475.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.66 and a beta of 2.68.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen upgraded Aspen Aerogels to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Oppenheimer downgraded Aspen Aerogels from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $7.00 price objective (down from $13.00) on shares of Aspen Aerogels in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $18.44.

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.