156,387 Shares in AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV Purchased by Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 156,387 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,815,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AVAV. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in AeroVironment during the second quarter worth about $574,566,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AeroVironment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $94,655,000. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in AeroVironment by 22,773.4% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 261,214 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $63,185,000 after acquiring an additional 260,072 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 4,770.1% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 260,207 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $62,941,000 after purchasing an additional 254,864 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heard Capital LLC raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 48.4% during the 4th quarter. Heard Capital LLC now owns 722,150 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $174,681,000 after purchasing an additional 235,685 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of AeroVironment stock opened at $172.74 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $162.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $191.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 4.30 and a quick ratio of 3.59. The company has a market capitalization of $8.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -46.94, a PEG ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 1.41. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.20 and a 1-year high of $417.86.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, June 29th. The aerospace company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.37. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 3.71% and a negative net margin of 9.00%.The company had revenue of $641.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $555.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.61 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 133.3% compared to the same quarter last year. AeroVironment has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.020-3.340 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AVAV. Zacks Research upgraded AeroVironment from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $248.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Wedbush began coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AeroVironment has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $266.68.

Insider Transactions at AeroVironment

In related news, CAO Brian Charles Shackley sold 205 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.86, for a total value of $41,381.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 7,888 shares in the company, valued at $1,592,271.68. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.98, for a total transaction of $47,995.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 48,503 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,311,605.94. The trade was a 0.51% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 705 shares of company stock worth $132,979. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

About AeroVironment

AeroVironment, Inc (NASDAQ:AVAV) is a technology company specializing in unmanned aerial systems (UAS), tactical missiles and precision loitering munitions, electric vehicle charging and scalable energy systems. Headquartered in Monrovia, California, the company develops solutions for defense, public safety and commercial markets. Their offerings include small UAS for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as advanced weapons systems designed to meet the needs of modern military operations.

The company’s unmanned aerial systems portfolio features platforms such as the Raven, Puma and Switchblade series, which are deployed by the U.S.