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) shares 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 changing hands.

ASPN has been the subject of several other reports. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on Aspen Aerogels from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. Oppenheimer downgraded Aspen Aerogels from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $19.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aspen Aerogels news, CAO Santhosh P. Daniel sold 4,410 shares of Aspen Aerogels stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.31, for a total value of $32,237.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 19,879 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $145,315.49. The trade was a 18.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 4.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 96.2% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 299,311 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,901,000 after acquiring an additional 146,794 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aspen Aerogels in the first quarter worth approximately $681,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aspen Aerogels in the first quarter worth approximately $109,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 107,764 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,280,000 after buying an additional 15,462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 645.4% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 135,584 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,611,000 after buying an additional 117,395 shares during the last quarter. 97.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aspen Aerogels Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 3.31, a current ratio of 3.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market cap of $597.11 million, a PE ratio of -1.90 and a beta of 2.73. The business's fifty day moving average is $6.86 and its 200-day moving average is $6.95.

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

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.