AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV Shares Acquired by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in AeroVironment, Inc. by 57.6%, ending the second quarter with holdings valued at $2.42 million.
• AeroVironment reported a quarterly revenue of $454.68 million, a 140% increase from the same quarter last year, but missed earnings expectations with an EPS of $0.32.
• The stock has a consensus rating of Buy with an average price target of $295.23, reflecting strong analyst sentiment regarding its future performance.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report) by 57.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,498 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,106 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $2,422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 41.0% in the first quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 763,489 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $91,000,000 after purchasing an additional 221,948 shares in the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 35.4% during the 1st quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 17,873 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,130,000 after acquiring an additional 4,669 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its stake in AeroVironment by 94.8% in the 1st quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 4,415 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $526,000 after buying an additional 2,148 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 1st quarter worth about $1,142,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in AeroVironment by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 139,835 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $16,667,000 after acquiring an additional 3,183 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company's stock.

AeroVironment Price Performance

AVAV stock opened at $301.79 on Friday. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 1 year low of $102.25 and a 1 year high of $307.11. The company's 50-day moving average is $256.73 and its 200-day moving average is $201.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 5.96 and a quick ratio of 5.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.07 billion, a PE ratio of -471.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.02.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 9th. The aerospace company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $454.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $446.16 million. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 4.67% and a negative net margin of 4.14%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 140.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.600-3.70 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AeroVironment news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 17,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.05, for a total transaction of $4,550,765.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 122,233 shares in the company, valued at $32,153,390.65. This represents a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVAV has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup started coverage on AeroVironment in a research report on Monday, August 4th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. KeyCorp initiated coverage on AeroVironment in a report on Sunday, June 29th. They set an "overweight" rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $335.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Sunday, June 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of AeroVironment from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $295.23.

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.

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