Aspen Aerogels (NYSE:ASPN) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Aspen Aerogels' shares gapped down after Barclays downgraded the stock from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating, with the stock opening at $7.12 compared to a previous close of $7.55.
• Despite the downgrade, Barclays raised its price target for Aspen Aerogels to $16.00, significantly higher than its previous target of $7.00.
• Analysts have mixed views on the stock, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $19.50, despite recent revenue decline and earnings per share of ($0.04) for the last quarter.

Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down prior to trading on Monday after Barclays downgraded the stock from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating. The stock had previously closed at $7.55, but opened at $7.12. Barclays now has a $16.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $7.00. Aspen Aerogels shares last traded at $6.74, with a volume of 985,314 shares.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Oppenheimer cut shares of Aspen Aerogels from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Aspen Aerogels from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $19.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 1,998.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,316 shares of the construction company's stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 3,158 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Aspen Aerogels by 1,094.8% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,791 shares of the construction company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 4,390 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 67.3% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 6,343 shares of the construction company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 2,551 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aspen Aerogels in the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in Aspen Aerogels in the first quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 97.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aspen Aerogels Trading Down 7.6%

The company has a current ratio of 3.98, a quick ratio of 3.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $574.46 million, a PE ratio of -1.77 and a beta of 2.73. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.03.

Aspen Aerogels (NYSE:ASPN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The construction company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by $0.08. Aspen Aerogels had a positive return on equity of 2.92% and a negative net margin of 78.53%. The company had revenue of $78.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.53 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.21 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 33.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Aspen Aerogels, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share 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.