AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Short Interest Down 5.1% in November

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) was the target of a large decline in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,290,000 shares, a decline of 5.1% from the October 31st total of 1,360,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 363,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James lowered AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Baird R W upgraded AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $240.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $161.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.83.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 878 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.54, for a total value of $184,854.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,658,343.04. The trade was a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold 1,782 shares of company stock valued at $373,609 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Security National Bank purchased a new stake in AeroVironment in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in AeroVironment in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 51.0% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 394 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

AeroVironment stock opened at $196.89 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 3.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $208.78 and a 200-day moving average of $194.35. The firm has a market cap of $5.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 90.66 and a beta of 0.45. AeroVironment has a 1-year low of $116.51 and a 1-year high of $236.60.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 9.87% and a net margin of 7.82%. The company had revenue of $188.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $181.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that AeroVironment will post 3.36 EPS for the current 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.