Aspen Aerogels (NYSE:ASPN) Shares Down 5.1% Following Insider Selling

Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN)’s stock price traded down 5.1% on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $24.60 and last traded at $24.74. 91,155 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 1,330,852 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.06.

Specifically, CEO Donald R. Young sold 63,355 shares of Aspen Aerogels stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.03, for a total value of $1,902,550.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 483,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,523,709.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASPN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Aspen Aerogels in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. B. Riley raised Aspen Aerogels to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Craig Hallum raised their price target on Aspen Aerogels from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Aspen Aerogels in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $27.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Aspen Aerogels in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.70.

Aspen Aerogels Trading Down 5.5 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -58.55 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a quick ratio of 2.82, a current ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $25.24 and its 200 day moving average is $23.81.

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

Institutional Trading of Aspen Aerogels

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASPN. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 130.4% in the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156,789 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $51,439,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220,724 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Aspen Aerogels by 562.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 770,729 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $18,382,000 after buying an additional 654,350 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aspen Aerogels in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,339,000. Hood River Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 3,300,443 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $58,088,000 after buying an additional 357,895 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aspen Aerogels during the 2nd quarter valued at $8,340,000. 97.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.