Verition Fund Management LLC Reduces Position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Verition Fund Management LLC trimmed its holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 18.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,275 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 298 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $256,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 861,962 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 19,950.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 267,066 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $53,547,000 after purchasing an additional 265,734 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in AeroVironment by 108.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 180,824 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $36,255,000 after buying an additional 94,062 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 74,672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in AeroVironment by 83.6% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 112,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $20,568,000 after buying an additional 51,428 shares in the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AeroVironment Price Performance

AeroVironment stock opened at $156.50 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $4.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.94 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $202.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $192.43. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 1 year low of $116.51 and a 1 year high of $236.60.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 6.39% and a return on equity of 8.12%. The firm 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 firm earned $0.97 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 508 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.65, for a total value of $110,058.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,654,452.20. The trade was a 2.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,782 shares of company stock valued at $373,609. Corporate insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on AVAV. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $240.00 to $230.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Raymond James cut shares of AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. One equities research 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, AeroVironment has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.20.

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.