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

Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 9,720,000 shares, a decline of 15.3% from the February 13th total of 11,470,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,940,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.0 days. Currently, 12.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Aspen Aerogels Price Performance

NYSE:ASPN traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $7.36. The stock had a trading volume of 1,228,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,999,185. The stock has a market capitalization of $603.54 million, a PE ratio of 45.97 and a beta of 2.28. Aspen Aerogels has a 52 week low of $6.70 and a 52 week high of $33.15. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $9.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a current ratio of 2.93.

Aspen Aerogels (NYSE:ASPN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.11. Aspen Aerogels had a net margin of 2.95% and a return on equity of 7.49%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aspen Aerogels will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ASPN shares. B. Riley lowered their price target on shares of Aspen Aerogels from $35.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Aspen Aerogels from $25.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Aspen Aerogels from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com raised Aspen Aerogels to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Aspen Aerogels to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aspen Aerogels presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.11.

Institutional Trading of Aspen Aerogels

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASPN. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Aspen Aerogels in the fourth quarter worth about $129,000. Palogic Value Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Aspen Aerogels during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,544,000. Toronto Dominion Bank purchased a new stake in Aspen Aerogels during the 4th quarter valued at $266,000. AWM Investment Company Inc. lifted its position in Aspen Aerogels by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. AWM Investment Company Inc. now owns 1,208,686 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $14,359,000 after buying an additional 34,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connective Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Aspen Aerogels in the fourth quarter worth $433,000. 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.