Who the Heck Is Aspen Aerogels? I’m Opening a Position
The small-cap aerogels firm is a compelling investment.
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Who the heck are these guys? Aspen Aerogels, Inc (ASPN) is an aerogel technology company. The firm is headquartered in Northborough, Massachusetts, and was founded in 2001. What do they do? Aspen Aerogel designs, develops, manufactures and sells high-performance aerogel materials.
You don’t say. OK, so what’s an aerogel? Aerogels are described as ultralight, highly porous solids. They are more air than anything else and they provide exceptional uses as thermal insulation, fire resistance, and “other” properties. Aspen Aerogels Inc has commercialized flexible, durable blankets and barriers made of aerogel, using their own proprietary process. This has made this once considered to be “fragile” material far more practical for industrial use.
Aspen runs the business through two operating segments, which are Energy Industrial and Thermal Barrier. These segments boil down to the insulation business and the thermal protection/fire prevention business. Key products include Pyrogel for high-temperature applications in refineries, petrochemical plants, power generation and fire protection as well as Cryogel for sub-ambient and cryogenic or cold temperature systems. Lastly, there is the Spaceloft Subsea product line for offshore/pipe-in-pipe applications.
Earnings and Revenue
For the second quarter, which was reported on August 6, Aspen posted an adjusted EPS of -$0.22 on revenue of $49.8 million. While the top-line print presented as year-over-year growth of -36.2%, it did beat expectations. Guidance was stronger than one might think though. Current quarter revenue is expected to range between $65 million and $80 million. Consensus had been for $56.93 million. Current quarter net loss per share is expected to range between $0.07 and $0.11 versus the -$0.13 consensus. For the current full year, Wall Street is expecting revenue “growth” of -19%. However, growth of 30% is expected for 2027.
The Balance Sheet and Cash Flows
The firm’s balance sheet is surprisingly strong. Cash on hand amounts to $153.421 million. Total debt comes to $56.975 million while $23.346 million of that is labeled as current. The firm’s current ratio stands at 2.51. Once adjusted for deferred revenues, that ratio improves to a muscular 3.39.
Operating cash flow runs at $17.945 million for the first six months of the fiscal year, up from $1.702 million a year ago. “Free” cash flows for H1 2026 ran at -$5.149 million, up from -$53.244 million. I’m liking this firm as an investment more and more after looking at these fundamentals.
The Chart
What we see here is a giant cup-with-handle pattern (which is bullish) with an upside pivot of $8.10. This allows for a considerably higher target price as the portfolio gets involved. Our initial target will be $10.
Other Portfolio News
SoFi Technologies (SOFI)
On Tuesday morning, analyst Donald Fandetti of Wells Fargo reiterated his “hold” rating on SOFI as well as his $17 target price. Fandetti is rated at five stars out of five by TipRanks. He has compiled a 63% success rate over the past two years while generating an average return of 10.4%.
Monday’s Intentions vs Actual Trades
Intention: Sell 25 shares of (ONDS) at or close to the last sale of $8.71
Actual trade: Sold 25 shares of ONDS at $8.33
Intention: Sell 50 shares of (ALTO) at or closer to the last sale of $4.38
Sold 50 shares of ALTO at $4.20
Tuesday’s Intentions
I really do not like the way ALTO is behaving. Yes, I am selling these shares at a loss to reduce risk at this point.
Sell 25 shares of ALTO at or close to the last sale of $4.07
Purchase 40 shares of (ASPN) at or close to the last sale of $5.13
Current Positions
Long 250 shares of ALTO at $4.9359. Target price: $8. Last sale: $4.07.
Long 85 shares of (EVLV) at $5.8876. Target price: $8.50. Last sale: $5.26.
Long 100 shares of (OCUL) at $8.3545. Target price: $11. Last sale: $11.06.
Short one OCUL $11 September 18 call at $1.65. Last sale: $0.75.
Long 250 shares of ONDS at $8.5651. Target price: $14. Last sale: $8.29.
Long 50 shares of (PL) at $24.4758. Target price: $46. Last sale: $21.49.
Long 10 shares of (RKLB) at $73.041. Target price: $101. Last sale: $67.60.
Long 100 shares of SOFI at $15.7153. Target price: $24. Last sale: $18.81.
Long 50 shares of (SWBI) at $15.2614. Target price: $19. Last sale: $13.53.
Long 100 shares of (VELO) at $12.2986. Target price: $21. Last sale: $12.86.
Cash: $443.44.
Portfolio value: $10,602.15, +6.0% from inception on March 24.
At the time of publication, Guilfoyle was long ALTO, EVLV, OCUL, ONDS, PL, RKLB, SOFI, SWBI and VELO.
