AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,640,000 shares, an increase of 27.1% from the November 15th total of 1,290,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 407,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.0 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In other news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 508 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.65, for a total value of $110,058.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,654,452.20. This trade represents a 2.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,782 shares of company stock valued at $373,609. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 22.2% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 114,502 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $20,858,000 after buying an additional 20,785 shares during the last quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 9,926 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,808,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in AeroVironment by 41.1% during the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,289 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $599,000 after acquiring an additional 958 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 42.4% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 752 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $137,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 359.2% in the 2nd quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,125 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AeroVironment Stock Up 1.7 %

NASDAQ AVAV traded up $2.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $156.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 607,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 362,664. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.94 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $202.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.47. The company has a current ratio of 4.61, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. AeroVironment has a twelve month low of $116.51 and a twelve month high of $236.60.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.29). AeroVironment had a return on equity of 8.12% and a net margin of 6.39%. The business had revenue of $188.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $181.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that AeroVironment will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on AVAV. Robert W. Baird raised AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $161.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Baird R W upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Raymond James cut shares of AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $240.00 to $230.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.20.

AeroVironment Company Profile

AeroVironment, Inc designs, develops, produces, delivers, and supports a portfolio of robotic systems and related services for government agencies and businesses in the United States and internationally. It operates through Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS), Tactical Missile System (TMS), Medium Unmanned Aircraft Systems (MUAS), and High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite Systems (HAPS) segments.