Connective Portfolio Management LLC Makes New Investment in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Connective Portfolio Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 3,200 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $492,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in AeroVironment during the 4th quarter valued at about $212,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 740.9% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 63,919 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $9,836,000 after buying an additional 56,318 shares during the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in AeroVironment by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 38,585 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,736,000 after acquiring an additional 1,705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in AeroVironment by 299.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,821 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after acquiring an additional 3,614 shares in the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $240.00 to $230.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $225.20.

AeroVironment Trading Up 1.7 %

AeroVironment stock opened at $167.53 on Thursday. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 52-week low of $119.46 and a 52-week high of $236.60. The company has a market cap of $4.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 96.28 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 3.36, a current ratio of 4.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $178.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $185.88.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.29). AeroVironment had a return on equity of 8.12% and a net margin of 6.39%. The business had revenue of $188.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $181.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other AeroVironment news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.73, for a total transaction of $78,697.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,273,480.56. The trade was a 2.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

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.