AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV Stock: Traynor Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stake

Traynor Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 27,836 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,872 shares during the quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $3,959,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 3,558 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $506,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in AeroVironment by 19.0% during the third quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC now owns 671 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its stake in AeroVironment by 11.9% during the third quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,190 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $167,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in AeroVironment during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Southern Financial Group LLC raised its position in AeroVironment by 12.6% during the first quarter. Southern Financial Group LLC now owns 1,218 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In other news, CAO Brian Shackley sold 205 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.86, for a total value of $41,381.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,592,271.68. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Stephen Page sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.27, for a total value of $38,067.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 48,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,347,484.31. This represents a 0.52% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 805 shares of company stock worth $142,671. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lowered their price objective on AeroVironment from $225.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on AeroVironment from $280.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on AeroVironment from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Raymond James Financial upgraded AeroVironment from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on AeroVironment in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.81.

AeroVironment Price Performance

AVAV stock opened at $126.11 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $6.41 billion, a PE ratio of -53.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.42. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 12 month low of $113.15 and a 12 month high of $408.25. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $141.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $187.31. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 9th. The aerospace company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.37. AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 5.77% and a positive return on equity of 4.04%. The company had revenue of $480.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $451.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. AeroVironment has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.020-3.340 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

AeroVironment Profile

AeroVironment, Inc is a defense technology company that develops and supplies uncrewed aircraft systems, loitering munitions, counter-uncrewed-aircraft systems, space systems and related autonomous technologies. Its products are designed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, precision strike, tactical communications and other defense and security missions.

The company’s portfolio includes the Raven, Puma and Quantix unmanned aircraft systems; the JUMP 20 vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft; and the Switchblade family of loitering munitions.