Connors Investor Services Inc. Has $1.96 Million Stock Position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Connors Investor Services Inc. reduced its position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,754 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 413 shares during the period. Connors Investor Services Inc.’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $1,959,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new stake in AeroVironment in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new position in AeroVironment in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the first quarter worth approximately $61,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 50.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 401 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. 86.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AeroVironment Trading Down 9.7 %

NASDAQ AVAV opened at $173.52 on Tuesday. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.67 and a 52 week high of $224.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 3.04 and a current ratio of 4.26. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $179.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.16 and a beta of 0.50.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.28. AeroVironment had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 9.87%. The business had revenue of $189.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.18 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.22, for a total transaction of $77,703.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,581,799.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other AeroVironment news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 9,867 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 99,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,904,723.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 18,254 shares in the company, valued at $3,581,799.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,287 shares of company stock valued at $1,928,305. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVAV has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James lowered shares of AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Baird R W upgraded AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Robert W. Baird raised AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $161.00 to $220.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.20.

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.