Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,820,000 shares, a growth of 5.0% from the March 31st total of 4,590,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 987,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.9 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aspen Aerogels

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ASPN. AIGH Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aspen Aerogels during the 3rd quarter valued at $15,067,000. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aspen Aerogels during the 4th quarter valued at $12,015,000. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 385.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 623,135 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $5,359,000 after purchasing an additional 494,662 shares during the last quarter. Worth Venture Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Aspen Aerogels during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,684,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Aspen Aerogels by 53.9% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,154,042 shares of the construction company's stock worth $18,211,000 after acquiring an additional 404,042 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASPN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TheStreet upgraded shares of Aspen Aerogels from a "d+" rating to a "c-" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Aspen Aerogels in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Aspen Aerogels in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $19.00.

Aspen Aerogels Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASPN traded down $0.44 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $15.22. The company had a trading volume of 918,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 947,453. The company has a fifty day moving average of $16.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.06 and a beta of 2.04. Aspen Aerogels has a 12 month low of $5.32 and a 12 month high of $19.10. The company has a current ratio of 3.41, a quick ratio of 2.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Aspen Aerogels (NYSE:ASPN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The construction company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by $0.11. Aspen Aerogels had a negative net margin of 19.19% and a negative return on equity of 10.47%. The company had revenue of $84.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $83.82 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.20) EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Aspen Aerogels will post -0.24 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.