Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Makes New $203,000 Investment in Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 31,774 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 460.4% in the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 7,436 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 6,109 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 2,137.9% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,325 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 7,953 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in Aspen Aerogels during the first quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Sandia Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Aspen Aerogels in the fourth quarter worth $89,000. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Aspen Aerogels during the first quarter valued at about $109,000. 97.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aspen Aerogels Price Performance

ASPN opened at $7.85 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $644.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.25 and a beta of 2.73. Aspen Aerogels, Inc. has a 1 year low of $4.16 and a 1 year high of $33.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 3.53. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.14.

Aspen Aerogels (NYSE:ASPN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The construction company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.01. Aspen Aerogels had a positive return on equity of 6.69% and a negative net margin of 65.47%. The company had revenue of $78.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $82.75 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.02) earnings per share. Aspen Aerogels’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Aspen Aerogels, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $7.00 price objective (down from $13.00) on shares of Aspen Aerogels in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Aspen Aerogels from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Aspen Aerogels has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Donald R. Young purchased 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $5.35 per share, with a total value of $107,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 550,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,947,079.60. This represents a 3.77% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

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.