Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN) Short Interest Update

Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,520,000 shares, an increase of 21.1% from the August 15th total of 4,560,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,590,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASPN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Aspen Aerogels from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. B. Riley raised shares of Aspen Aerogels to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Aspen Aerogels in a report on Thursday, August 8th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Aspen Aerogels from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Aspen Aerogels in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.70.

Aspen Aerogels Price Performance

ASPN traded up $0.57 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $24.65. The stock had a trading volume of 924,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,295,441. The business has a 50-day moving average of $24.81 and a 200-day moving average of $23.03. Aspen Aerogels has a one year low of $5.94 and a one year high of $33.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 2.82 and a current ratio of 3.46. The stock has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a PE ratio of -57.95 and a beta of 2.16.

Aspen Aerogels (NYSE:ASPN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The construction company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.16. Aspen Aerogels had a return on equity of 0.74% and a net margin of 0.39%. The company had revenue of $117.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.22) EPS. Aspen Aerogels’s revenue for the quarter was up 144.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Aspen Aerogels will post 0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Aspen Aerogels

In other Aspen Aerogels news, CFO Ricardo C. Rodriguez sold 32,465 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.14, for a total value of $978,495.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $626,610.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 4.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its stake in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 37.5% in the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 4,593 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 1,252 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 10.3% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 14,310 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 1,339 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 15.3% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,580 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,938 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Aspen Aerogels in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $84,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aspen Aerogels in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $95,000. 97.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aspen Aerogels Company 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.