Oaktop Capital Management II L.P. Boosts Stock Holdings in Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN)

Oaktop Capital Management II L.P. raised its stake in Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,740,525 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 200,000 shares during the period. Aspen Aerogels makes up about 5.5% of Oaktop Capital Management II L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Oaktop Capital Management II L.P. owned approximately 4.56% of Aspen Aerogels worth $44,437,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Aspen Aerogels by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,360,246 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $51,800,000 after purchasing an additional 226,251 shares during the period. Needham Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Aspen Aerogels by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 2,389,700 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,390,000 after purchasing an additional 117,500 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Aspen Aerogels by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,018,631 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $23,983,000 after purchasing an additional 409,862 shares during the period. Telemark Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Aspen Aerogels by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. Telemark Asset Management LLC now owns 1,892,424 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $22,482,000 after purchasing an additional 400,000 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Aspen Aerogels by 4,757.8% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,622,022 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $19,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,588,632 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.64% of the company’s stock.

Aspen Aerogels Trading Up 6.2%

Shares of NYSE:ASPN opened at $5.26 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $431.46 million, a PE ratio of 32.85 and a beta of 2.72. Aspen Aerogels, Inc. has a 1 year low of $4.16 and a 1 year high of $33.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $6.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.37. The company has a current ratio of 2.93, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Aspen Aerogels (NYSE:ASPN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The construction company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $78.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $82.75 million. Aspen Aerogels had a net margin of 2.95% and a return on equity of 7.49%. Aspen Aerogels’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.02) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Aspen Aerogels, Inc. will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Donald R. Young purchased 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $5.35 per share, for a total transaction of $107,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 550,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,947,079.60. The trade was a 3.77% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on ASPN. B. Riley cut their target price 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 dropped their price target on shares of Aspen Aerogels from $25.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Craig Hallum cut their price objective on Aspen Aerogels from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on Aspen Aerogels from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Roth Mkm cut their price objective on Aspen Aerogels from $22.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aspen Aerogels currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.11.

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.