By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV – Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,880,000 shares, an increase of 18.5% from the December 31st total of 2,430,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 441,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.5 days.
AeroVironment Price Performance
Shares of AVAV stock traded up $8.17 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $180.15. The company had a trading volume of 399,857 shares, compared to its average volume of 304,113. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a current ratio of 4.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 103.53 and a beta of 0.50. AeroVironment has a 12 month low of $119.46 and a 12 month high of $236.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $169.42 and its 200 day moving average is $185.86.
AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.47 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $188.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $181.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AeroVironment will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other AeroVironment news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.73, for a total value of $78,697.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,472 shares in the company, valued at $3,273,480.56. This trade represents a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its position in AeroVironment by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 1,951,393 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $391,254,000 after purchasing an additional 439,717 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 19,950.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 267,066 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $53,547,000 after buying an additional 265,734 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 155.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 321,479 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $64,457,000 after buying an additional 195,443 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its position in AeroVironment by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 541,541 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $83,338,000 after buying an additional 154,703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heard Capital LLC grew its holdings in AeroVironment by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter. Heard Capital LLC now owns 592,136 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $118,723,000 after acquiring an additional 120,447 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research firms recently weighed in on AVAV. Jefferies Financial Group raised AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $240.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.20.
View Our Latest Analysis on AVAV
About AeroVironment
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.
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