Vident Advisory LLC Increases Stock Position in AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in AeroVironment by 141.3% in Q1, owning 45,904 shares valued at approximately $5.47 million.
• Analysts have a consensus buy rating for AeroVironment, with a price target averaging $292.33, driven by new coverage from multiple investment firms.
• AeroVironment reported a 39.6% revenue increase year-over-year, with earnings per share of $1.61, exceeding estimates by $0.20.

Vident Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report) by 141.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,904 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 26,882 shares during the quarter. Vident Advisory LLC owned 0.16% of AeroVironment worth $5,471,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Redwood Investments LLC increased its stake in AeroVironment by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Redwood Investments LLC now owns 9,273 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,427,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in AeroVironment by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $208,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in AeroVironment by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,601 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its stake in AeroVironment by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,199 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its stake in AeroVironment by 120.2% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 185 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on AVAV. Citizens Jmp began coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Monday, August 4th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $325.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Sunday, June 29th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $210.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $335.00 target price on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Sunday, June 29th. They set an "overweight" rating on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have given a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AeroVironment currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $292.33.

AeroVironment Trading Down 5.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:AVAV traded down $13.27 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $224.96. 958,905 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 822,097. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 3.52 and a quick ratio of 2.69. The firm has a market cap of $11.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 145.14 and a beta of 1.02. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $255.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $189.06. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 1 year low of $102.25 and a 1 year high of $295.90.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 24th. The aerospace company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $275.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $242.69 million. AeroVironment had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The firm's revenue was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

AeroVironment 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.