BNP Paribas Financial Markets Acquires 117,395 Shares of Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN - Free Report) by 645.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 135,584 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 117,395 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.17% of Aspen Aerogels worth $1,611,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in Aspen Aerogels by 54.0% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 11,395 shares of the construction company's stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 3,998 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Aspen Aerogels during the fourth quarter worth approximately $164,000. Connors Investor Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Aspen Aerogels during the fourth quarter worth approximately $168,000. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Aspen Aerogels during the fourth quarter worth approximately $178,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in Aspen Aerogels by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 15,914 shares of the construction company's stock worth $189,000 after purchasing an additional 2,565 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on ASPN shares. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Aspen Aerogels from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aspen Aerogels to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Aspen Aerogels from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Craig Hallum dropped their target price on Aspen Aerogels from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Aspen Aerogels from $25.00 to $13.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $19.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Donald R. Young purchased 20,000 shares of Aspen Aerogels stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $5.35 per share, for a total transaction of $107,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 550,856 shares in the company, valued at $2,947,079.60. This trade represents a 3.77% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

Aspen Aerogels Stock Performance

Aspen Aerogels stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $6.41. 3,824,375 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,998,049. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $5.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $526.29 million, a PE ratio of 40.07 and a beta of 2.72. Aspen Aerogels, Inc. has a one year low of $4.16 and a one year high of $33.15. The company has a quick ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 2.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Aspen Aerogels (NYSE:ASPN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The construction company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.01. Aspen Aerogels had a return on equity of 7.49% and a net margin of 2.95%. The business had revenue of $78.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $82.75 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.02) earnings per share. Aspen Aerogels's quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Aspen Aerogels, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current 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.