AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Short Interest Up 48.2% in December

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,430,000 shares, a growth of 48.2% from the November 30th total of 1,640,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 446,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.4 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on AVAV. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $240.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Thursday, December 5th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One investment 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 company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.20.

AeroVironment Price Performance

AeroVironment stock traded down $3.84 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $157.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 345,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 372,559. AeroVironment has a 12 month low of $116.51 and a 12 month high of $236.60. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $192.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $189.66. The company has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a PE ratio of 90.61 and a beta of 0.45.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.29). The business had revenue of $188.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $181.80 million. AeroVironment had a net margin of 6.39% and a return on equity of 8.12%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that AeroVironment will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AeroVironment news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 878 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.54, for a total value of $184,854.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,658,343.04. This represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 1,782 shares of company stock valued at $373,609 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AeroVironment

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in AeroVironment by 29.6% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 27,259 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,965,000 after purchasing an additional 6,219 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the second quarter valued at approximately $243,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $330,000. Legacy Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AeroVironment by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 13,446 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,449,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in AeroVironment by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 4,609 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $840,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. 86.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.