Emerald Advisers LLC Has $35.97 Million Stake in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Emerald Advisers LLC reduced its position in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 0.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 197,459 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 359 shares during the quarter. AeroVironment accounts for about 1.5% of Emerald Advisers LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Emerald Advisers LLC’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $35,969,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in AeroVironment by 160.7% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 90,946 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $11,463,000 after purchasing an additional 56,062 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 322,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $40,641,000 after buying an additional 17,985 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in AeroVironment by 119.6% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 13,717 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,729,000 after buying an additional 7,470 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in AeroVironment by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,813 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in AeroVironment by 50.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 401 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at AeroVironment

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.22, for a total value of $77,703.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,581,799.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 9,867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.23, for a total transaction of $1,669,792.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 99,892 shares in the company, valued at $16,904,723.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.22, for a total value of $77,703.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,581,799.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,287 shares of company stock valued at $1,928,305. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Price Performance

AVAV stock opened at $179.47 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $177.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $173.11. The firm has a market cap of $5.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.84 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 3.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.67 and a 12 month high of $224.00.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.28. AeroVironment had a net margin of 8.32% and a return on equity of 10.89%. The business had revenue of $189.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $183.18 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AVAV. Robert W. Baird upgraded AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $161.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $255.00 price target on the stock. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Baird R W upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned 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 $210.20.

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.