AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Short Interest Update

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,880,000 shares, a growth of 18.5% from the December 15th total of 2,430,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 441,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $240.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.20.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

Shares of AVAV traded up $3.35 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $168.74. The stock had a trading volume of 317,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 430,256. AeroVironment has a fifty-two week low of $119.46 and a fifty-two week high of $236.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a current ratio of 4.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $175.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $185.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 96.98 and a beta of 0.50.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.29). The business had revenue of $188.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $181.80 million. AeroVironment had a net margin of 6.39% and a return on equity of 8.12%. AeroVironment’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AeroVironment will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.73, for a total value of $78,697.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,472 shares in the company, valued at $3,273,480.56. This represents a 2.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AVAV. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 299.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,821 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,037,000 after acquiring an additional 3,614 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 120.6% during the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 136,603 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $24,884,000 after purchasing an additional 74,672 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,179,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AeroVironment in the 3rd quarter valued at about $271,000. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC boosted its holdings in AeroVironment by 85.0% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 4,395 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $881,000 after buying an additional 2,019 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.38% 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.