Short Interest in Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN) Rises By 21.1%

Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN) saw a significant increase in short interest in 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 volume of 1,590,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Insider Activity at Aspen Aerogels

In other news, CFO Ricardo C. Rodriguez sold 32,465 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.14, for a total value of $978,495.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $626,610.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 4.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aspen Aerogels

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its position in Aspen Aerogels by 37.5% in the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 4,593 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 1,252 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Aspen Aerogels in the second quarter worth about $84,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Aspen Aerogels in the second quarter worth about $95,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Aspen Aerogels in the 2nd quarter worth about $121,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado bought a new stake in Aspen Aerogels during the 2nd quarter valued at about $145,000. 97.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aspen Aerogels Trading Up 2.4 %

NYSE ASPN traded up $0.57 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $24.65. 924,202 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,295,441. The stock has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a PE ratio of -57.95 and a beta of 2.16. Aspen Aerogels has a 52 week low of $5.94 and a 52 week high of $33.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $24.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.03. The company has a quick ratio of 2.82, a current ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Aspen Aerogels from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. B. Riley raised shares of Aspen Aerogels to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of Aspen Aerogels in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Aspen Aerogels from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on Aspen Aerogels in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aspen Aerogels currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.70.

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.