Benjamin Edwards Inc. Takes Position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 3,281 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $658,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $565,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its stake in AeroVironment by 120.6% in the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 136,603 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $24,884,000 after purchasing an additional 74,672 shares during the last quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP purchased a new position in AeroVironment in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,679,000. RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in AeroVironment during the second quarter worth approximately $218,000. Finally, Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust lifted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 158,968 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $28,958,000 after buying an additional 3,098 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

NASDAQ AVAV opened at $163.33 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 93.87 and a beta of 0.45. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 52-week low of $116.51 and a 52-week high of $236.60. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $207.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $193.92. The company has a quick ratio of 3.04, a current ratio of 4.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.29). AeroVironment had a net margin of 6.39% and a return on equity of 8.19%. The company had revenue of $188.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $181.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.97 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on AVAV shares. Raymond James downgraded shares of AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Baird R W raised AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $240.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors upgraded AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AeroVironment currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In other AeroVironment news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 508 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.65, for a total value of $110,058.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,654,452.20. The trade was a 2.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,782 shares of company stock valued at $373,609. 1.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.