Nuveen Asset Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN - Free Report) by 24.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 562,303 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 178,589 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.69% of Aspen Aerogels worth $6,680,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 4,757.8% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,622,022 shares of the construction company's stock worth $19,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,588,632 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Aspen Aerogels during the fourth quarter worth about $9,504,000. Dendur Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Aspen Aerogels during the fourth quarter worth about $9,207,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 472.4% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 766,400 shares of the construction company's stock worth $9,105,000 after purchasing an additional 632,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Aspen Aerogels during the fourth quarter worth about $5,126,000. Institutional investors own 97.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on ASPN. Seaport Res Ptn cut Aspen Aerogels from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. B. Riley lowered their target price on Aspen Aerogels from $35.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on Aspen Aerogels from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer lowered Aspen Aerogels from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Aspen Aerogels to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $18.44.

Aspen Aerogels Price Performance

ASPN traded down $0.19 during trading on Friday, reaching $5.78. 1,528,874 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,010,239. The company's 50-day moving average is $5.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.36. The company has a market cap of $474.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.10 and a beta of 2.72. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $4.16 and a 12-month high of $33.15.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $78.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $82.75 million. Aspen Aerogels had a return on equity of 7.49% and a net margin of 2.95%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.02) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Aspen Aerogels, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Aspen Aerogels news, CEO Donald R. Young purchased 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $5.35 per share, for a total transaction of $107,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 550,856 shares in the company, valued at $2,947,079.60. The trade was a 3.77% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

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.