Baillie Gifford & Co. Sells 12,192 Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Baillie Gifford & Co. decreased its position in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 649,714 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 12,192 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned approximately 2.31% of AeroVironment worth $99,588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 160.7% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 90,946 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,463,000 after buying an additional 56,062 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA grew its holdings in AeroVironment by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 322,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $40,641,000 after acquiring an additional 17,985 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 26.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 77,121 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $8,601,000 after purchasing an additional 16,107 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 119.6% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 13,717 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,729,000 after acquiring an additional 7,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in AeroVironment by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,813 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AVAV shares. BTIG Research initiated coverage on AeroVironment in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $255.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $161.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In other news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 511 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.45, for a total transaction of $91,187.95. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,807,052.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AVAV traded down $1.41 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $168.90. The company had a trading volume of 373,499 shares, compared to its average volume of 522,859. The company has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.08 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.56 and a quick ratio of 2.52. The company has a fifty day moving average of $191.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $155.73. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.00 and a 12-month high of $224.00.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The aerospace company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.21. AeroVironment had a net margin of 8.32% and a return on equity of 10.89%. The company had revenue of $197.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.48 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AeroVironment Profile

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.