Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 14,013 Shares of Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN) by 0.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,445,887 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,013 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc.’s holdings in Aspen Aerogels were worth $29,635,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 451.1% during the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 722 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 591 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 37.5% during the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 2,539 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC lifted its position in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 15.1% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC now owns 6,987 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 919 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 1.7% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 58,592 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,021,000 after buying an additional 970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC lifted its position in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 10.3% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 14,936 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. 97.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aspen Aerogels Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of ASPN opened at $16.78 on Friday. Aspen Aerogels, Inc. has a 52-week low of $5.32 and a 52-week high of $19.10. The company has a quick ratio of 2.91, a current ratio of 3.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $16.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.71. The stock has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a PE ratio of -25.42 and a beta of 2.04.

Aspen Aerogels (NYSE:ASPN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The construction company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by $0.11. Aspen Aerogels had a negative net margin of 19.19% and a negative return on equity of 10.47%. The company had revenue of $84.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $83.82 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.20) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Aspen Aerogels, Inc. will post -0.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on ASPN. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Aspen Aerogels from $13.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 27th. Roth Mkm began coverage on shares of Aspen Aerogels in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Aspen Aerogels from $13.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 27th. TheStreet raised shares of Aspen Aerogels from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Aspen Aerogels in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.00.

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.