Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. Decreases Stock Holdings in Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN)

Key Points

• Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. reduced its stake in Aspen Aerogels by 71.5%, selling 308,704 shares and owning 122,796 shares valued at approximately $785,000.
• Analysts have revised the stock's price target significantly, with Barclays lowering its target from $13.00 to $7.00 while the average price target remains at $18.44.
• CEO Donald R. Young increased his ownership in Aspen Aerogels by acquiring 20,000 shares for $107,000, raising his total shares to 550,856.

Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. decreased its position in Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN - Free Report) by 71.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 122,796 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 308,704 shares during the period. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. owned about 0.15% of Aspen Aerogels worth $785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Aspen Aerogels by 460.4% during the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 7,436 shares of the construction company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 6,109 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Aspen Aerogels by 2,137.9% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,325 shares of the construction company's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 7,953 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in Aspen Aerogels during the first quarter worth about $65,000. Sandia Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in Aspen Aerogels during the fourth quarter worth about $89,000. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Aspen Aerogels during the first quarter worth about $109,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Donald R. Young purchased 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $5.35 per share, with a total value of $107,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

Aspen Aerogels Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of NYSE:ASPN traded down $0.23 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $7.51. The stock had a trading volume of 1,234,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,920,868. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $6.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $7.31. The company has a quick ratio of 3.53, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $616.24 million, a P/E ratio of -2.15 and a beta of 2.65. Aspen Aerogels, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $4.16 and a fifty-two week high of $33.15.

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 the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.01. Aspen Aerogels had a negative net margin of 65.47% and a positive return on equity of 6.69%. The firm had revenue of $78.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $82.75 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.02) earnings per share. Aspen Aerogels's revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Aspen Aerogels, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on ASPN shares. Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $7.00 price objective (down previously from $13.00) on shares of Aspen Aerogels in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Aspen Aerogels from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average 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.