Needham Investment Management LLC Raises Position in Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN)

Needham Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,389,700 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 117,500 shares during the quarter. Aspen Aerogels accounts for about 2.2% of Needham Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Needham Investment Management LLC owned approximately 2.91% of Aspen Aerogels worth $28,390,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,360,246 shares of the construction company's stock worth $51,800,000 after acquiring an additional 226,251 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,018,631 shares of the construction company's stock worth $23,983,000 after acquiring an additional 409,862 shares in the last quarter. Telemark Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Telemark Asset Management LLC now owns 1,892,424 shares of the construction company's stock worth $22,482,000 after acquiring an additional 400,000 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 4,757.8% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,622,022 shares of the construction company's stock worth $19,270,000 after acquiring an additional 1,588,632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,464,163 shares of the construction company's stock worth $17,398,000 after acquiring an additional 78,195 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aspen Aerogels

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

Aspen Aerogels Stock Up 12.0%

ASPN stock traded up $0.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $6.38. The company had a trading volume of 2,882,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,960,784. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.93 and a quick ratio of 2.48. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.21. The company has a market capitalization of $523.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.85 and a beta of 2.72. Aspen Aerogels, Inc. has a 52 week low of $4.16 and a 52 week high of $33.15.

Aspen Aerogels (NYSE:ASPN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The construction company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $78.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $82.75 million. Aspen Aerogels had a return on equity of 7.49% and a net margin of 2.95%. The business's revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.02) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Aspen Aerogels, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASPN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Aspen Aerogels from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer downgraded Aspen Aerogels from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. B. Riley lowered their price target on Aspen Aerogels from $35.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Aspen Aerogels from $25.00 to $13.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Aspen Aerogels to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $19.11.

Aspen Aerogels 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.