Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN - Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 9,720,000 shares, a drop of 15.3% from the February 13th total of 11,470,000 shares. Approximately 12.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,940,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.0 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on ASPN shares. Roth Mkm dropped their price target on shares of Aspen Aerogels from $22.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Aspen Aerogels to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on Aspen Aerogels from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. B. Riley cut their price objective on Aspen Aerogels from $35.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Aspen Aerogels from $25.00 to $13.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $19.11.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aspen Aerogels

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sandia Investment Management LP acquired a new position in Aspen Aerogels in the 4th quarter valued at about $89,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Aspen Aerogels in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $129,000. AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in Aspen Aerogels by 54.0% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 11,395 shares of the construction company's stock worth $135,000 after acquiring an additional 3,998 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Aspen Aerogels during the fourth quarter worth $164,000. Finally, Connors Investor Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Aspen Aerogels in the fourth quarter valued at $168,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.64% of the company's stock.

Aspen Aerogels Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ASPN traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $7.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,495,466 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,791,241. The stock has a market capitalization of $578.93 million, a P/E ratio of 44.10 and a beta of 2.28. Aspen Aerogels has a 1-year low of $6.62 and a 1-year high of $33.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $9.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.55. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.11. Aspen Aerogels had a net margin of 2.95% and a return on equity of 7.49%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Aspen Aerogels will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.