Why Aspen Aerogels Shares Are Seeing Blue Skies On Wednesday

Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN) shares are trading higher after the company won a conditional commitment for a proposed DOE loan worth up to $670.6 million.

This loan, part of the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program, will finance the construction of Aspen’s second aerogel manufacturing facility in Register, Georgia.

Although the conditional commitment signifies the DOE’s intent to finance the project, both the DOE and Aspen Aerogels must meet specific technical, legal, environmental, and financial conditions before finalizing the loan agreement and disbursing funds.

The Register Plant will manufacture PyroThin aerogel blankets, ultrathin thermal barriers designed to prevent thermal runaway in batteries.  

The plant is projected to generate $1.2 billion to $1.6 billion in initial revenue and create up to 550 construction jobs and 255 permanent positions.

Donald R. Young, Aspen’s President and CEO, said, “We believe that PyroThin, which can enable increased battery safety and performance, is a unique and differentiated product that solves an important and challenging problem.”

”We are also excited to further DOE’s mission to onshore and re-shore domestic manufacturing technologies that are critical to meeting the current federal goal of having half of all new vehicles sold in 2030 be zero-emissions vehicles.”

Outlook: Additionally, the company announced preliminary results for the third quarter of 2024.

The company expects quarterly revenue of approximately $117 million (vs. consensus of $95.5 million) and a net loss of around $13 million, which includes a one-time charge of $27.5 million related to the extinguishment of its convertible note on August 19, 2024.

The company sees adjusted EBITDA of approximately $25 million. As of September 30, the company held about $113 million in cash and cash equivalents.

Aspen plans to report third-quarter results on November 7, 2024.

Price Action: ASPN shares are up 13.1% at $25.38 at the last check Wednesday.

Image via Shutterstock

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