AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV Shares Bought by Canal Insurance CO

Canal Insurance CO grew its position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 80,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the period. AeroVironment comprises about 2.7% of Canal Insurance CO’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Canal Insurance CO owned approximately 0.16% of AeroVironment worth $11,378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter valued at about $574,566,000. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 20.1% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 595,134 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $84,640,000 after buying an additional 99,494 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 18.8% in the first quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 490,426 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $89,772,000 after buying an additional 77,619 shares during the last quarter. American Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in AeroVironment in the second quarter worth approximately $69,745,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in AeroVironment during the second quarter valued at approximately $67,549,000. 86.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $210.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AeroVironment presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.80.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

Shares of AVAV stock traded up $0.33 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $118.23. The company had a trading volume of 555,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,661,422. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $150.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $164.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 3.33. AeroVironment, Inc. has a one year low of $116.30 and a one year high of $408.25. The company has a market capitalization of $6.01 billion, a PE ratio of -50.55, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.36.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Brian Shackley sold 205 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.86, for a total transaction of $41,381.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,592,271.68. This represents a 2.53% 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, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.27, for a total transaction of $38,067.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 48,253 shares in the company, valued at $7,347,484.31. The trade was 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 805 shares of company stock worth $142,671. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

About AeroVironment

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.