Short Interest in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Grows By 27.1%

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVAV has been the topic of several recent research reports. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $240.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Baird R W raised shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $161.00 to $220.00 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.20.

AeroVironment Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of AeroVironment stock traded up $2.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $156.50. 611,458 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 362,664. The company has a current ratio of 4.61, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.94 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $202.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $192.43. AeroVironment has a twelve month low of $116.51 and a twelve month high of $236.60.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.29). AeroVironment had a return on equity of 8.12% and a net margin of 6.39%. The firm 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 earned $0.97 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that AeroVironment will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other AeroVironment news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 878 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.54, for a total transaction of $184,854.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 1,782 shares of company stock worth $373,609 over the last 90 days. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its position in shares of AeroVironment by 132.7% during the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 1,511,676 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $275,367,000 after buying an additional 861,962 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in AeroVironment by 19,950.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 267,066 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $53,547,000 after purchasing an additional 265,734 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in AeroVironment by 155.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 321,479 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $64,457,000 after buying an additional 195,443 shares during the last quarter. Heard Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 25.5% in 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 period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in AeroVironment by 108.4% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 180,824 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $36,255,000 after buying an additional 94,062 shares in the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.