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

Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN) fell 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.03, for a total transaction of $1,902,550.65. Following 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 this link.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASPN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of Aspen Aerogels from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Craig Hallum lifted their price target on Aspen Aerogels from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Aspen Aerogels from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. B. Riley raised shares of Aspen Aerogels to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Aspen Aerogels in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One equities research 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.70.

Aspen Aerogels Stock Down 5.5 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $25.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.81. The firm has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a PE ratio of -58.55 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 2.82 and a current ratio of 3.46.

Aspen Aerogels (NYSE:ASPN) last released 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. Aspen Aerogels had a net margin of 0.39% and a return on equity of 0.74%. The company had revenue of $117.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.22) earnings per share. Aspen Aerogels’s revenue for the quarter was up 144.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Aspen Aerogels, Inc. will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Aspen Aerogels

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its position in Aspen Aerogels by 37.5% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Aspen Aerogels during the 1st quarter worth $404,000. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Aspen Aerogels during the 1st quarter worth $750,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Aspen Aerogels by 85.2% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 25,706 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 11,823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Aspen Aerogels in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,181,000. 97.64% of the stock is currently 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.