ClariVest Asset Management LLC Lowers Holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

ClariVest Asset Management LLC lessened its position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 21,655 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 2,814 shares during the period. ClariVest Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $3,945,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 132.7% in the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 1,511,676 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $275,367,000 after acquiring an additional 861,962 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in AeroVironment by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,094,831 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $474,376,000 after acquiring an additional 179,395 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 187.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 221,749 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $27,949,000 after acquiring an additional 144,628 shares in the last quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE raised its position in AeroVironment by 756.3% during the fourth quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 102,155 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $12,876,000 after acquiring an additional 90,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the fourth quarter valued at about $9,784,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Stock Down 0.1 %

AVAV opened at $180.71 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 3.04 and a current ratio of 4.26. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 1 year low of $104.67 and a 1 year high of $224.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $178.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.26. The company has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a PE ratio of 81.40 and a beta of 0.50.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $189.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $183.18 million. AeroVironment had a return on equity of 9.87% and a net margin of 7.82%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other AeroVironment news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 9,867 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.23, for a total value of $1,669,792.41. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 99,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,904,723.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 9,867 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.23, for a total transaction of $1,669,792.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 99,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,904,723.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.22, for a total transaction of $77,703.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,254 shares in the company, valued at $3,581,799.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 11,287 shares of company stock worth $1,928,305. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AVAV shares. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $161.00 to $220.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Baird R W upgraded AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on AeroVironment from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $255.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AeroVironment currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.20.

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.