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

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) saw a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,430,000 shares, an increase of 48.2% from the November 30th total of 1,640,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 446,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.4 days.

AeroVironment Price Performance

AVAV stock traded down $4.53 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $153.13. The company had a trading volume of 39,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 371,170. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $192.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $189.51. AeroVironment has a 12-month low of $116.51 and a 12-month high of $236.60. The company has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.01 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 3.36, a current ratio of 4.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.47 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 firm had revenue of $188.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $181.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. AeroVironment’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that AeroVironment will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.65, for a total value of $110,058.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,654,452.20. This represents a 2.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 1,782 shares of company stock valued at $373,609 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Security National Bank purchased a new position in AeroVironment during the third quarter worth $31,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in AeroVironment in the third quarter worth about $62,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in AeroVironment by 51.0% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 394 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI boosted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 23.1% during the third quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 400 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AVAV shares. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $240.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Raymond James cut AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on AeroVironment from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. One investment 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.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.20.

AeroVironment Company 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.