Capstone Investment Advisors LLC Acquires New Stake in AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV

Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 9,820 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,621,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVAV. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in AeroVironment during the 1st quarter valued at $225,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the 2nd quarter worth $285,000. American Century Companies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the 2nd quarter worth $633,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 5,200.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 0.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 24,188 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,892,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AeroVironment news, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.41, for a total transaction of $43,602.50. Following the sale, the director owned 49,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,546,264.41. The trade was a 0.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Brian Charles Shackley sold 205 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.86, for a total transaction of $41,381.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,592,271.68. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 705 shares of company stock valued at $132,979 in the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AeroVironment News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting AeroVironment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: $51 million U.S. Army Switchblade order: The additional Switchblade 600 Block 2 systems, including units supporting a foreign military sale, reinforce demand for AeroVironment’s loitering munitions and provide near-term backlog and revenue visibility. AeroVironment Receives $51 Million U.S. Army Order
• Positive Sentiment: NASA Mars helicopter program: AeroVironment will co-manufacture three Ingenuity-inspired helicopters with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory for a planned 2028 Mars mission. The project expands the company’s autonomous-systems credentials and creates a valuable long-term technology catalyst, though its immediate financial impact is likely limited. AeroVironment to Co-Manufacture Helicopters for Mars With NASA
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst remains bullish: William Blair’s Louie DiPalma reiterated a Buy rating, citing strong loitering-munitions demand and the potential for an Army E-HEL laser contract to offset possible near-term revenue pressure. William Blair Reiterates Buy on AeroVironment
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming catalysts: AeroVironment will report fiscal 2027 first-quarter results after the September 9 close, followed by a September 10 Jefferies Global Industrials Conference presentation. Investors will look for updates on production expansion, European growth, backlog conversion and guidance. AeroVironment to Announce First-Quarter Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder investigations: Two law firms announced investigations into whether AeroVironment’s board and executives adequately disclosed competitive exposure related to the U.S. Space Force’s SCAR program. The inquiries create legal, reputational and disclosure risks, although they do not represent established wrongdoing. Berger Montague AeroVironment Investigation
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and valuation concerns: Recent trading data showed insider sales without reported purchases, while market commentary pointed to bearish technical trends and potential short-term revenue pressure ahead of earnings.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

AVAV opened at $152.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.74 billion, a PE ratio of -41.38, a P/E/G ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 3.59, a current ratio of 4.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $160.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $186.89. AeroVironment, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.20 and a fifty-two week high of $417.86.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last issued its earnings results on Monday, June 29th. The aerospace company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $641.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $555.97 million. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 3.71% and a negative net margin of 9.00%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 133.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.61 EPS. AeroVironment has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.020-3.340 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AVAV. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Monday, June 8th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $248.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $266.68.

AeroVironment Profile

AeroVironment, Inc (NASDAQ:AVAV) is a technology company specializing in unmanned aerial systems (UAS), tactical missiles and precision loitering munitions, electric vehicle charging and scalable energy systems. Headquartered in Monrovia, California, the company develops solutions for defense, public safety and commercial markets. Their offerings include small UAS for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as advanced weapons systems designed to meet the needs of modern military operations.

The company’s unmanned aerial systems portfolio features platforms such as the Raven, Puma and Switchblade series, which are deployed by the U.S.