Needham Investment Management LLC Has $28.39 Million Stake in Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN)

Needham Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,389,700 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 117,500 shares during the quarter. Aspen Aerogels accounts for approximately 2.2% of Needham Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Needham Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Aspen Aerogels were worth $28,390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in Aspen Aerogels by 54.0% during the 4th 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 last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Aspen Aerogels during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $164,000. Connors Investor Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aspen Aerogels in the fourth quarter worth approximately $168,000. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Aspen Aerogels in the fourth quarter worth approximately $178,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 15,914 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $189,000 after buying an additional 2,565 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.64% of the company’s stock.

Aspen Aerogels Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ASPN opened at $5.26 on Tuesday. Aspen Aerogels, Inc. has a 1 year low of $4.16 and a 1 year high of $33.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $431.46 million, a P/E ratio of 32.85 and a beta of 2.72. The company’s 50-day moving average is $6.03 and its 200 day moving average is $10.37. 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) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.01. Aspen Aerogels had a return on equity of 7.49% and a net margin of 2.95%. The business had revenue of $78.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $82.75 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.02) EPS. The business’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Aspen Aerogels, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASPN has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen raised shares of Aspen Aerogels to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Roth Mkm lowered their price objective on shares of Aspen Aerogels from $22.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays cut their target price on Aspen Aerogels from $25.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Oppenheimer lowered Aspen Aerogels from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut Aspen Aerogels from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Donald R. Young acquired 20,000 shares of Aspen Aerogels stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $5.35 per share, with a total value of $107,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.