AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Short Interest Update

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) saw 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 trading volume of 407,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the company from $240.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Baird R W upgraded AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on AeroVironment from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $225.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AeroVironment news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 878 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.54, for a total transaction of $184,854.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,376 shares in the company, valued at $3,658,343.04. This represents a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 1,782 shares of company stock valued at $373,609 over the last three months. 1.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AeroVironment

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AVAV. Security National Bank purchased a new position in AeroVironment during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in AeroVironment in the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 394 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI lifted its holdings in AeroVironment by 23.1% during the third quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 400 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AVAV traded up $2.62 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $156.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 611,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 362,664. AeroVironment has a fifty-two week low of $116.51 and a fifty-two week high of $236.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 4.61 and a quick ratio of 3.36. The firm has a market cap of $4.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.94 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $202.57 and its 200-day moving average is $192.47.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $188.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $181.80 million. AeroVironment had a net margin of 6.39% and a return on equity of 8.12%. AeroVironment’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that AeroVironment will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.