AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Shares Sold by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC cut its holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 25.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 452 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 151 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $70,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in 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 acquired a new stake in AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 51.0% in the 3rd 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 increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 23.1% in 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 period. 86.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,273,480.56. This represents a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AVAV shares. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Raymond James downgraded shares of AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of 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 report on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $225.20.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AVAV opened at $165.03 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $180.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $186.16. The company has a quick ratio of 3.36, a current ratio of 4.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a market cap of $4.65 billion, a PE ratio of 94.84 and a beta of 0.50. AeroVironment, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $119.46 and a fifty-two week high of $236.60.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.47 earnings per share 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 previous year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.