Versor Investments LP Buys New Stake in AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV

Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,467 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $418,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVAV. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in AeroVironment in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $491,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 139,835 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $16,667,000 after purchasing an additional 3,183 shares during the last quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 28.6% in the 1st quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 1,800 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 5,894 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $702,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in AeroVironment by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Price Performance

Shares of AVAV opened at $350.70 on Thursday. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 1-year low of $102.25 and a 1-year high of $417.86. The stock has a market cap of $17.51 billion, a PE ratio of -547.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 5.96 and a quick ratio of 5.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $322.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $251.56.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 28th. The aerospace company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter. AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 4.14% and a positive return on equity of 4.67%. The firm had revenue of $132.62 million during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of AeroVironment from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $320.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $295.00 to $389.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Monday, August 4th. They set a “strong-buy” rating and a $325.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AeroVironment presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $356.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 998 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $399.74, for a total value of $398,940.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 19,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,724,575.76. The trade was a 4.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,717 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total transaction of $654,177.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 4,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,869,567. This trade represents a 25.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.81% of the stock is owned by 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.