HighTower Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 24.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,240 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,629 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $1,655,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Security National Bank purchased a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in AeroVironment during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in AeroVironment in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 400 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVAV has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $240.00 to $230.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective 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 report on Wednesday, August 28th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors raised AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $225.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 508 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,654,452.20. This trade represents a 2.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,782 shares of company stock worth $373,609. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AeroVironment Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of AVAV stock opened at $156.50 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $202.57 and a 200 day moving average of $192.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 4.61 and a quick ratio of 3.36. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 1-year low of $116.51 and a 1-year high of $236.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.41 billion, a PE ratio of 89.94 and a beta of 0.45.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.29). AeroVironment had a net margin of 6.39% and a return on equity of 8.12%. The company had revenue of $188.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $181.80 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.97 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

AeroVironment 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.