Peregrine Investment Management Inc. Buys Shares of 600,000 Aspen Aerogels, Inc. $ASPN

Peregrine Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 600,000 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,176,000. Aspen Aerogels accounts for approximately 2.1% of Peregrine Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ASPN. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Aspen Aerogels by 84.7% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 56,419 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 25,880 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aspen Aerogels in the first quarter worth $960,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Aspen Aerogels during the first quarter valued at $84,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Aspen Aerogels by 89.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,274,356 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $8,143,000 after purchasing an additional 602,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in shares of Aspen Aerogels in the 1st quarter worth about $307,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on ASPN. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aspen Aerogels in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Aspen Aerogels from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Aspen Aerogels from $6.00 to $4.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on shares of Aspen Aerogels from $10.00 to $5.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.67.

Aspen Aerogels Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ASPN opened at $3.32 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $3.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.38. Aspen Aerogels, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2.80 and a 52-week high of $9.82. The company has a market cap of $273.98 million, a PE ratio of -0.89 and a beta of 2.99. The company has a quick ratio of 3.33, a current ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

About Aspen Aerogels

Aspen Aerogels, Inc, headquartered in Northborough, Massachusetts, develops and manufactures high-performance aerogel insulation materials and custom engineered solutions. Founded in 2001 as a spin-out from Department of Energy research, the company pursued an initial public offering on the NYSE in 2014 under the ticker ASPN. Aspen Aerogels combines proprietary aerogel formulations with advanced manufacturing processes to deliver products known for their low thermal conductivity, lightweight construction and robust mechanical properties.

The company’s product portfolio spans blanket insulation, boards, and custom shapes built around several proprietary brands, including Pyrogel, Cryogel and Spaceloft.