AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Posted by Defense World Staff on Oct 19th, 2023

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV – Get Free Report) saw a significant decline in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 662,500 shares, a decline of 5.3% from the September 15th total of 699,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 210,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AeroVironment news, CAO Brian Charles Shackley sold 475 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.77, for a total value of $53,565.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $363,344.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the first quarter worth about $505,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 167.7% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,622 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. MA raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 13.7% during the second quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 259,712 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $26,563,000 after purchasing an additional 31,195 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 11.1% during the first quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 195,027 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $17,876,000 after purchasing an additional 19,504 shares during the period. Finally, Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the second quarter worth about $276,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:AVAV opened at $116.24 on Thursday. AeroVironment has a 1-year low of $78.02 and a 1-year high of $124.33. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $104.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.29. The company has a current ratio of 4.49, a quick ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.07 and a beta of 0.53.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 5th. The aerospace company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.74. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 10.16% and a negative net margin of 24.97%. The firm had revenue of $152.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $128.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.10) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that AeroVironment will post 2.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on AVAV shares. Raymond James lowered AeroVironment from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Monday, October 9th. Alembic Global Advisors lowered AeroVironment from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, September 7th. StockNews.com started coverage on AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Wednesday, September 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $95.00 to $128.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $119.67.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on AeroVironment

AeroVironment Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.