Aspen Aerogels (ASPN) Competitors

Aspen Aerogels (NYSE:ASPN) and Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) are both wholesale companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, profitability, media sentiment, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends and risk.

Which has more volatility & risk, ASPN or CENT?

Aspen Aerogels has a beta of 2.73, indicating that its share price is 173% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Central Garden & Pet has a beta of 0.7, indicating that its share price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is ASPN or CENT more profitable?

Central Garden & Pet has a net margin of 4.44% compared to Aspen Aerogels' net margin of -78.53%. Central Garden & Pet's return on equity of 10.77% beat Aspen Aerogels' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Aspen Aerogels	-78.53%	2.92%	1.85%
Central Garden & Pet	4.44%	10.77%	4.65%

Which has preferable valuation & earnings, ASPN or CENT?

Central Garden & Pet has higher revenue and earnings than Aspen Aerogels. Aspen Aerogels is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Central Garden & Pet, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Aspen Aerogels	$452.70M	1.27	$13.38M	-$3.81	-1.83
Central Garden & Pet	$3.20B	0.72	$107.98M	$2.20	16.65

Do institutionals & insiders believe in ASPN or CENT?

97.6% of Aspen Aerogels shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 16.1% of Central Garden & Pet shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.3% of Aspen Aerogels shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.2% of Central Garden & Pet shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media refer more to ASPN or CENT?

In the previous week, Aspen Aerogels had 6 more articles in the media than Central Garden & Pet. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for Aspen Aerogels and 2 mentions for Central Garden & Pet. Aspen Aerogels' average media sentiment score of 1.23 beat Central Garden & Pet's score of 0.56 indicating that Aspen Aerogels is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Aspen Aerogels	3 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Central Garden & Pet	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts recommend ASPN or CENT?

Aspen Aerogels presently has a consensus price target of $19.50, indicating a potential upside of 179.57%. Central Garden & Pet has a consensus price target of $40.00, indicating a potential upside of 9.23%. Given Aspen Aerogels' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Aspen Aerogels is more favorable than Central Garden & Pet.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Aspen Aerogels	1 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.70
Central Garden & Pet	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33

Summary

Aspen Aerogels beats Central Garden & Pet on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.