Aspen Aerogels (NYSE:ASPN) Shares Climb 10.8% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Aspen Aerogels shares rose 10.8% in mid-day trading, reaching $6.39, while trading volume was 51% below its daily average.
• Analyst views are mixed: the stock has an average Hold rating and a $6.25 average price target, with three Buy, one Hold, and two Sell ratings.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.11 versus a consensus loss of $0.09 and revenue of $85.18 million versus $72.07 million expected.

Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 10.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $6.39 and last traded at $6.3360. 695,809 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 1,409,184 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.72.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aspen Aerogels from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, October 31st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Aspen Aerogels from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $7.75 target price on shares of Aspen Aerogels in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Aspen Aerogels in a report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, B. Riley Financial restated a "buy" rating on shares of Aspen Aerogels in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $6.25.

Aspen Aerogels Trading Up 12.0%

The business's 50-day moving average price is $5.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.72. The company has a market capitalization of $532.43 million, a P/E ratio of -4.05 and a beta of 3.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 2.24.

Aspen Aerogels (NYSE:ASPN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The construction company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.20. The business had revenue of $85.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $72.07 million. Aspen Aerogels had a negative net margin of 60.81% and a negative return on equity of 27.87%. As a group, analysts forecast that Aspen Aerogels, Inc. will post -0.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Aspen Aerogels

In other Aspen Aerogels news, major shareholder Wood River Capital, Llc sold 12,280,426 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.73, for a total transaction of $58,086,414.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.96% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aspen Aerogels

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AIGH Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Aspen Aerogels in the 3rd quarter worth $39,183,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Aspen Aerogels in the second quarter valued at about $33,457,000. Oaktop Capital Management II L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Aspen Aerogels in the second quarter valued at about $32,769,000. George Kaiser Family Foundation bought a new stake in shares of Aspen Aerogels in the second quarter valued at about $20,081,000. Finally, Rice Hall James & Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aspen Aerogels during the second quarter worth about $10,368,000. 97.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aspen Aerogels Company Profile

Aspen Aerogels, Inc. is an advanced materials company that develops, manufactures and sells aerogel-based products. Aerogels are highly porous materials used for thermal management, insulation and protection. The company serves customers in the energy, industrial, transportation and building materials markets. Its product portfolio includes thermal barriers designed to help protect electric vehicle batteries from thermal runaway, as well as insulation products for industrial, energy infrastructure and building applications.

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