US Bancorp DE Increases Position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE increased its stake in AeroVironment, Inc. by 270% in Q1, owning 7,107 shares valued at $847,000 after purchasing an additional 5,186 shares.
• AeroVironment reported earnings of $1.61 per share for the last quarter, beating estimates by $0.20, with revenues up 39.6% year-over-year.
• Wall Street analysts have expressed strong confidence in AeroVironment, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $283.55.

US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report) by 270.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,107 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,186 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE's holdings in AeroVironment were worth $847,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 171.1% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 244 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 56.1% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 398 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on AeroVironment from $210.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded AeroVironment from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 22nd. Citizens Jmp started coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Monday, August 4th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $325.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $240.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Monday, June 30th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $301.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $283.55.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

NASDAQ AVAV traded down $3.01 on Monday, reaching $244.44. 898,263 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 836,923. The firm has a market cap of $12.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 157.70 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $236.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $180.69. AeroVironment, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $102.25 and a fifty-two week high of $295.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a current ratio of 3.52.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 24th. The aerospace company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $275.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $242.69 million. AeroVironment had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The company's revenue was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In other news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 17,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.05, for a total transaction of $4,550,765.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 122,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,153,390.65. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.27% 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.