Ascent Industries Co. (NASDAQ:ACNT), a $113 million market cap company, recently saw a significant stock purchase by Srinivas Ravi Ramesh, the company’s Vice President of Operations for Chemicals. According to a recent SEC filing, Ramesh acquired 4,000 shares of Ascent Industries’ common stock on December 20, 2024. InvestingPro analysis shows the company maintains a "FAIR" financial health score, with notably low price volatility. The shares were purchased at a weighted average price of $11.21 per share, totaling approximately $44,840. This transaction reflects Ramesh’s direct ownership of the shares, marking a notable acquisition for the executive. With analysts setting an $18 price target, this insider purchase appears timely. Get access to more exclusive insights and 6 additional ProTips for ACNT with an InvestingPro subscription.
In other recent news, Ascent reported its third consecutive quarter of financial improvement in Q3 2024, despite experiencing a decrease in net sales to $42.9 million from $46.7 million in the previous year. This decrease was primarily due to lower volumes and pricing in the Tubular Products segment. However, the company’s Specialty Chemicals segment saw favorable pricing, leading to a 67% gross margin improvement year-over-year. As a result, Ascent’s gross profit rose to $6.5 million, and its net loss improved significantly to $7 million from a previous loss of $14.7 million.
The company also reported an increase in adjusted EBITDA to $2.5 million. Despite soft demand impacting both the Tubular Products and Specialty Chemicals segments, the management remains optimistic about future growth and plans to capitalize on market opportunities while maintaining operational discipline. Ascent is also in a strong liquidity position, remaining debt-free with $8.5 million in cash, and is considering larger stock buybacks due to recent operational progress and increased liquidity. These are the recent developments for Ascent.
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