Connors Investor Services Inc. Sells 6,446 Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Connors Investor Services Inc. cut its position in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 36.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,167 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 6,446 shares during the quarter. Connors Investor Services Inc.’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $1,712,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in AeroVironment by 7.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,860,954 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $319,082,000 after purchasing an additional 209,359 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 3,565.5% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 171,288 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $21,589,000 after buying an additional 166,615 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the fourth quarter valued at about $20,287,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 187.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 221,749 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $27,949,000 after buying an additional 144,628 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 756.3% during the fourth quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 102,155 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $12,876,000 after buying an additional 90,225 shares during the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AVAV. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $255.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.20.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

Shares of AVAV stock traded down $1.16 during trading on Friday, reaching $164.23. 225,632 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 518,887. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $191.38 and its 200 day moving average is $159.20. The company has a current ratio of 3.56, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a market capitalization of $4.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.98 and a beta of 0.51. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.00 and a 1 year high of $224.00.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The aerospace company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $197.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.48 million. AeroVironment had a net margin of 8.32% and a return on equity of 10.89%. AeroVironment’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AeroVironment

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 511 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.45, for a total transaction of $91,187.95. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 21,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,807,052.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 511 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.45, for a total transaction of $91,187.95. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 21,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,807,052.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 9,867 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 99,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,904,723.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.