AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV Shares Sold by Royal Bank of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada reduced its stake in AeroVironment by 3.3%, retaining 104,643 shares, valued at approximately $12.47 million.
• Despite a decrease in some holdings, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its position by 41%, now owning about 763,489 shares worth $91 million.
• AeroVironment reported $454.68 million in revenue for the quarter, a significant 140% increase compared to the same quarter last year, although earnings per share slightly missed expectations.

Royal Bank of Canada cut its stake in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report) by 3.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 104,643 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 3,622 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.37% of AeroVironment worth $12,472,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 41.0% in the 1st quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 763,489 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $91,000,000 after buying 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 increased its position in AeroVironment by 94.8% during the 1st quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 4,415 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $526,000 after purchasing an additional 2,148 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in AeroVironment by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 45,272 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $6,967,000 after purchasing an additional 6,589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. acquired a new stake in AeroVironment in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,142,000. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on AVAV. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Sunday, June 29th. They issued an "overweight" rating for the company. Citigroup started coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Monday, August 4th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Sunday, June 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on AeroVironment in a report on Monday, June 30th. They set a "buy" rating and a $301.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $292.33.

AeroVironment Stock Down 2.1%

AVAV opened at $241.81 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $251.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $192.32. AeroVironment, Inc. has a twelve month low of $102.25 and a twelve month high of $295.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a current ratio of 5.96. The firm has a market cap of $12.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -377.82 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In related 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 122,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,153,390.65. This trade represents a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.81% 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.

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