Royce & Associates LP Has $4.51 Million Holdings in Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN)

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP reduced its stake in Aspen Aerogels by 25.4%, selling 240,345 shares, and currently owns 706,278 shares valued at approximately $4.5 million.
• CEO Donald R. Young acquired 20,000 shares of Aspen Aerogels at $5.35 per share, increasing his ownership by 3.77% to about 550,856 shares.
• Aspen Aerogels reported a net loss of $0.06 per share for the last quarter, beating analyst estimates, but revenue decreased 16.7% year-over-year.

Royce & Associates LP reduced its stake in Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN - Free Report) by 25.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 706,278 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 240,345 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.86% of Aspen Aerogels worth $4,513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ASPN. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Aspen Aerogels by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,360,246 shares of the construction company's stock worth $51,800,000 after purchasing an additional 226,251 shares during the last quarter. Oaktop Capital Management II L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Oaktop Capital Management II L.P. now owns 3,740,525 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $44,437,000 after acquiring an additional 200,000 shares during the period. Needham Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 2,389,700 shares of the construction company's stock worth $28,390,000 after purchasing an additional 117,500 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 25.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,018,631 shares of the construction company's stock worth $23,983,000 after purchasing an additional 409,862 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted 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 period. 97.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aspen Aerogels Stock Down 1.1%

ASPN stock traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $7.82. 788,407 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,941,315. Aspen Aerogels, Inc. has a 12-month low of $4.16 and a 12-month high of $33.15. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 3.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $641.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.23 and a beta of 2.65. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $6.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $7.32.

Aspen Aerogels (NYSE:ASPN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $78.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $82.75 million. Aspen Aerogels had a positive return on equity of 6.69% and a negative net margin of 65.47%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.02) EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Aspen Aerogels, Inc. will post 0.17 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on ASPN shares. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $7.00 price objective (down previously from $13.00) on shares of Aspen Aerogels in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Oppenheimer lowered Aspen Aerogels from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.44.

Insider Activity at Aspen Aerogels

In other Aspen Aerogels news, CEO Donald R. Young bought 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

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.