Short Interest in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Increases By 20.5%

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,820,000 shares, a growth of 20.5% from the August 15th total of 1,510,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 687,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 1.3 %

AVB stock traded up $3.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $234.75. The company had a trading volume of 608,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 731,524. The stock has a market cap of $33.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.93, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.97. AvalonBay Communities has a 52 week low of $160.45 and a 52 week high of $234.80. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $214.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $199.40.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.93). The firm had revenue of $726.04 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $718.49 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 29.61% and a return on equity of 7.16%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $207.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $185.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $210.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $219.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at AvalonBay Communities

In other news, CIO Matthew H. Birenbaum sold 5,000 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.90, for a total value of $1,044,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now directly owns 65,967 shares in the company, valued at $13,780,506.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CIO Matthew H. Birenbaum sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.90, for a total transaction of $1,044,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now owns 65,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,780,506.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Keri A. Shea sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.17, for a total transaction of $414,340.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $908,026.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,031 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter worth about $137,000. Jump Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 53.3% during the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 3,680 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,280 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 30.8% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,883 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,101,000 after buying an additional 1,386 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 43,995 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,237,000 after buying an additional 2,990 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Company Profile

As of December 31, 2023, the Company owned or held a direct or indirect ownership interest in 299 apartment communities containing 90,669 apartment homes in 12 states and the District of Columbia, of which 18 communities were under development. The Company is an equity REIT in the business of developing, redeveloping, acquiring and managing apartment communities in leading metropolitan areas in New England, the New York/New Jersey Metro area, the Mid-Atlantic, the Pacific Northwest, and Northern and Southern California, as well as in the Company's expansion regions of Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte, North Carolina, Southeast Florida, Dallas and Austin, Texas, and Denver, Colorado.