Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 226,251 Shares of Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN - Free Report) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,360,246 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 226,251 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 5.31% of Aspen Aerogels worth $51,800,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Aspen Aerogels in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,040,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Aspen Aerogels in the 4th quarter worth about $164,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Aspen Aerogels during the 4th quarter worth about $768,000. Palogic Value Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Aspen Aerogels in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,544,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Aspen Aerogels by 57.4% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 28,267 shares of the construction company's stock worth $336,000 after buying an additional 10,311 shares during the last quarter. 97.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aspen Aerogels Price Performance

ASPN stock traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $5.09. 177,262 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,921,171. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.73. The company has a quick ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 2.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $417.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.78 and a beta of 2.35. Aspen Aerogels, Inc. has a 1-year low of $4.80 and a 1-year high of $33.15.

Aspen Aerogels (NYSE:ASPN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.11. Aspen Aerogels had a return on equity of 7.49% and a net margin of 2.95%. On average, analysts anticipate that Aspen Aerogels, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASPN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Roth Mkm dropped their price target on shares of Aspen Aerogels from $22.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Aspen Aerogels from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. B. Riley reduced their target price 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 lowered their price target on Aspen Aerogels from $25.00 to $13.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Aspen Aerogels to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $19.11.

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.