BNP Paribas Financial Markets Boosts Holdings in Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN) by 645.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 135,584 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 117,395 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.17% of Aspen Aerogels worth $1,611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,360,246 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $51,800,000 after buying an additional 226,251 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,018,631 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $23,983,000 after buying an additional 409,862 shares in the last quarter. Telemark Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Telemark Asset Management LLC now owns 1,892,424 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $22,482,000 after buying an additional 400,000 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,464,163 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $17,398,000 after buying an additional 78,195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Aspen Aerogels in the fourth quarter worth about $9,504,000. 97.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aspen Aerogels Price Performance

Shares of ASPN opened at $6.38 on Monday. Aspen Aerogels, Inc. has a 1-year low of $4.16 and a 1-year high of $33.15. The stock has a market cap of $523.42 million, a PE ratio of 39.85 and a beta of 2.72. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.93 and a quick ratio of 2.48.

Aspen Aerogels (NYSE:ASPN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The construction company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.01. Aspen Aerogels had a net margin of 2.95% and a return on equity of 7.49%. The business had revenue of $78.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $82.75 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.02) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Aspen Aerogels, Inc. will post 0.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Aspen Aerogels news, CEO Donald R. Young acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $5.35 per share, with a total value of $107,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 550,856 shares in the company, valued at $2,947,079.60. This trade represents a 3.77% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Roth Mkm decreased 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 note on Friday, February 14th. B. Riley decreased their price target on shares of Aspen Aerogels from $35.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Aspen Aerogels from $25.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aspen Aerogels to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut shares of Aspen Aerogels from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Aspen Aerogels has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.11.

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.